


Where I Need To Be

by JennaPotter



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Daisysous, During Canon, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Missing Scene, Post-Season 7 Finale, Romance, Science Fiction, Sousy, Suspense, Team as Family, daisy x sousa, dousy, season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 07:29:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 180,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25467052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaPotter/pseuds/JennaPotter
Summary: This is set from Episode 7x03 onwards and follows the story of Daisy Johnson and Daniel Sousa, and how their relationship has been developing throughout this amazing season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! This story mostly follows canon but is interspersed with missing moments between Daisy and Sousa that I imagine could have happened off-screen.Depending on how this season ends, this fanfic might turn into a fix-it but I have high hopes for the writers to give Daisysous/Dousy/Sousy (has a ship name been decided?!) a good ending (judging from the way it’s been going so far!). Hope you enjoy! :)
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson & Daniel Sousa, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 781
Kudos: 608





	1. Infiltration at the Base

**Author's Note:**

> When I start shipping two characters, I normally wait until after all the episodes of the season have been released before writing any fanfic – just so I know for sure the direction they’re heading in – but after episode 7x08 I just couldn’t wait with these two so started writing this fanfiction last week. 
> 
> Never before have I jumped onto a ship so quickly…and then last night’s episode (7x09) happened!! Very excited to write the rest of this and delve more into Daisy and Sousa’s relationship…I’m guessing that if this season had been a normal longer length (20+ episodes) then the writers would have had more time to include more scenes between Sousa and Daisy, so I wanted to come up with my own ideas of what could have happened with them between the scenes we see in each episode. 
> 
> I can't wait for the remaining 4 episodes of this season (though I'm very apprehensive about what's in store for Daisy and Sousa) and I hope it's an enjoyable ride for all us fans of this show (and this new wonderful ship that's come out of nowhere!).
> 
> Hope you enjoy this fanfic anyway, and any feedback is very much appreciated as I’m always looking to improve my writing 😊 Thanks.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x03 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

There she was, sleeping what Daniel sincerely hoped was a peaceful, dreamless sleep. She deserved it after everything she had been through. Even with his new miraculous prosthetic leg to distract him, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her from the moment she'd laid back in that strange magical healing chamber. Why was that? He had only known Daisy Johnson a few days and yet, looking at her now as she recovered from her traumatic ordeal, he realised that he had never cared so deeply for someone since…well, for quite a number of years anyway. It unnerved him. He'd thought that part of his life was over. But he knew now for certain that he had been mistaken.

_How did I get here? How did this happen?_

Merely a few days ago, he had been the highly respected West Coast Security Chief of S.H.I.E.L.D, simply going about his perfectly ordinary life in the year 1955…and then everything had changed and his whole world had been turned upside down in the blink of an eye. It had all started, what felt like a lifetime ago, when Daniel Sousa had entered his office only to find a certain guest waiting for him there…

*** * ***

The day had not gone off to a good start. After a tiring journey from Los Angeles, Daniel Sousa had arrived at the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base near Area 51 to check in with the science team on the progress of Project Helius, an ion fusion reactor prototype, only to find that the base had been infiltrated by two mysterious operatives. The man, a middle-aged bespectacled man in a suit whose face lit up whenever he looked at Daniel for some reason, had been impersonating Agent Gerald Sharpe. Meanwhile the woman, a supposedly-British young woman with voluminous dark brown hair dressed glamorously and wearing dark red lipstick, had been impersonating none other than Agent Peggy Carter.

The prospect of seeing Peggy after so long apart had filled Daniel with both dread and intrigue. It had been a crushing blow to discover that 'Peggy' was someone else entirely, but that disappointment was quickly superseded by Daniel's anger that two unknown citizens had somehow managed to break into such a high-security-level base. Once he'd got them arrested, Daniel spoke to a few of his fellow agents at the base to demand how this could possibly have happened, but none of them had any answers for him. Frustrated, Daniel made his way towards his office, speaking to his lieutenant from the base as he went.

'Keep those two in holding and get me _everything_ – visitor logs, time cards, anyone on patrol,' Daniel was saying urgently as they walked down the corridor.

'Yes, sir,' the lieutenant replied.

'Lieutenant,' Daniel then said, his voice stern as they both came to a halt and the lieutenant stared ahead, as if afraid of his boss's wrath. 'I wanna know how these jokers got onto the most secure S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the Western United States.'

The lieutenant gave a quick nod, then turned and hurried away without a word. Irritated and weary, Daniel turned to his office and pushed open the door. He'd only taken a few steps into the room when he froze, utterly perplexed to see that someone was already sat at his desk.

_Not another one_ , was his immediate thought.

It was a young woman, sat upright on his seat as she peered over the contents of the paperwork on Daniel's desk, her gloved hand resting on the arm of her smart spectacles as she quickly skimmed through the documents. She wore a smart maroon dress suit and had long bronze-coloured hair that tumbled down her shoulders in elaborately styled curls. What disconcerted Daniel even more than this woman's inexplicable appearance at his desk was the fact that she didn't even look up when he came through the door; she was acting as if she belonged there.

Wondering if his long journey earlier and the unwelcome surprise of two infiltrators had tired him out a little _too_ much, Daniel did a double take as if to check that he had entered the right office. Annoyed with himself for even thinking such a thing, Daniel then turned back to the mysterious young woman sat on his chair.

'Who the hell are you?' he asked her exasperatedly.

'Who I am is on a need-to-know basis,' the woman replied coolly, as she continued to read over his paperwork.

Daniel was infuriated that she didn't even have the decency to look up at him. He took a step back as he indicated the large letters printed on his office door to her:

**CHIEF DANIEL SOUSA**

**S.H.I.E.L.D. WEST COAST**

'I need to know,' he said firmly, his tone irritable; he was fed up with this ridiculous chaos that had ensued since the moment he had stepped foot on the base today.

The woman sighed. 'Uh, no, you don't…because I don't exist and we never met,' she said with a smile, and as she removed her glasses Daisy Johnson looked up from the desk and clapped eyes on Daniel Sousa for the first time.

The faded black-and-white photograph in the detailed file she had meticulously studied in quick succession on the Zephyr earlier didn't quite do Agent Sousa justice, in Daisy's opinion. He was a handsome man, dressed in a crisp smart black suit, and was leaning his weight slightly on a wooden cane to assist him stand upright with his prosthetic leg. He looked to be about maybe five years older than her, with a salt and pepper streak in his dark hair. His expression amused her; he looked extremely aggravated.

'Now can you shut the door?' Daisy went on smoothly as she put away her glasses. 'Please?'

Daniel looked at her incredulously; he couldn't believe the nerve of her, whoever she was. 'Not to be rude but…it's been one of those days, so produce some credentials or I'm gonna put you in handcuffs,' he said, walking towards the desk and raising his eyebrows at her.

Daisy's lips twitched slightly as she looked up at him. Daniel Sousa was famous for being a good agent; smart, kind, excellent at his job, caring to his citizens and co-workers. She hadn't imagined him to be so severe. She quite liked it. She got up off his swivel chair and grabbed the fake ID that Deke had helped her prepare and print merely twenty minutes ago.

'Here,' she said softly, walking towards him and passing it over. 'I should inform you, that's not my real name.'

Daniel glanced at the ID card she had handed to him and then back to her, noticing her face properly for the first time. He had to admit, she was rather attractive. When she moved, the light streaming in from the window hit her hair and highlighted its caramel-coloured streaks. The way she spoke and held herself with such an air of confidence didn't help matters either.

'My initials are 'C', 'I', and 'A' – catch my drift?' Daisy went on, smiling.

Daniel frowned at her bemusedly. 'Subtle,' he said sarcastically, 'but yeah…I get it.'

He passed back her ID card, his anger somewhat subsided as he watched her. He was rather sceptical that she was telling the truth, but her mere attitude was telling enough to Daniel that this was a self-assured woman accustomed to the life of a high-ranking agent and was not afraid to get the job done. He hadn't come across a single woman like that since Peggy.

_Don't think about her_ , Daniel told himself furiously. It had been hard enough earlier with the waves of memories and emotions that had come flooding back to him as he'd dealt with Peggy's imposter.

'I'm also gonna call your bosses in Foggy Bottom and confirm it,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows as he watched her carefully.

Daisy was unconcerned; she reached out to his telephone on the desk and handed him the receiver herself. 'Uh, _please_ do,' she said, as he took the receiver from her, 'I'm sure they would _love_ to learn how two moles walked into this base on your watch.'

Daniel had been lifting the telephone receiver but froze at her words.

'Let me guess – they rolled in with flawless ID cards, made a beeline for the scientists for some…routine questioning?' Daisy said.

Daniel's lips twitched as he stared ahead of him. She was good. Very good. Reluctantly, he put the telephone back down on his desk.

'How'd you know that?' he asked her quietly.

Daisy flashed him a smug smile. 'CIA – we know all. Even about you, Mr. Sousa. How you were a scout for the 28th infantry, till you took shrapnel at Bastogne,' she said, as an impressed Daniel gazed at her in fascination with a hint of a smile on his face. 'Worked at Isodyne Energy, took down Hugh Jones and the Council of Nine. And _those_ are just the investigations that I am cleared to talk about.'

She glanced pointedly towards the open door. Daniel followed her gaze, wary that someone might overhear, and he stepped over to the doorway to make sure that no one was nearby out in the corridor. Isodyne…Hugh Jones…how did this woman know about those? Those missions with Peggy from the late forties had been kept top secret. Or so Daniel had thought anyway, but clearly not.

Daniel glanced back at Daisy. 'Why are you really here?' he asked, and he sounded almost anxious to know the answer; he checked the coast was clear outside again. 'Is this about the report I sent you guys?'

Daisy's expression momentarily froze – she hadn't been expecting that – before she quickly recovered. 'I can neither confirm nor deny that,' she replied.

'Well I hope so,' Daniel said heavily, glancing to the doorway again before turning back to Daisy. 'Because if S.H.I.E.L.D. _has_ been infiltrated with sleepers post-World War II, we need to route it out – right now – before it takes hold.'

Daisy's eyes had widened slightly at the determination in his voice. He was better than the stories in the files and history books, better even than what Coulson the fanboy had told her. This wasn't to do with the Chronicoms. Sousa was onto something else, be it Russians or HYDRA. Something serious. And there was nothing she could do to help him, no matter how much she wanted to.

'Look, all I can say is that you are not crazy,' Daisy said firmly, taking a few steps forward to close the distance between them. 'And the people that you have locked up might be the key to proving it.'

Daniel stared at her with parted lips, torn, his brow furrowed.

_This is ridiculous. I don't even know her. I should send for security._

He kept glancing at her uncertainly. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that intrigued Daniel. She was smart, and she knew it…yet another reminder of Peggy. Perhaps that was why he felt like he could trust this mysterious 'CIA Agent', despite not truly believing half of what she had been saying. But he wanted to believe that she was on his side…and, somehow, he could feel that she was. He just knew.

His mind made up, Daniel turned towards the door. 'Then come with me,' he said, lifting up his cane.

Daisy watched him with a small smile on her face as he led the way out of the office, then followed. Posing as a high-ranking female officer in the CIA probably wouldn't have worked on any other man in this building, but Daisy had read about Sousa and had heard Coulson's many enthusiastic stories about him; Daniel Sousa was a man who didn't mind working alongside – or even _for_ – a woman in a superior position, something practically unheard of for the fifties, and something she could use to her advantage.

'So how did you get here anyway?' Daniel asked as they walked along down the corridor.

Daisy hesitated. 'Uh…I drove here,' she replied.

'You drove, huh,' Daniel said slowly, his expression sceptical. 'And you just…waltzed into my office.'

Daisy merely looked at him, her eyebrows slightly raised.

'Right – CIA, I got it. You can do whatever the hell you want,' Daniel said heavily as he led her down a set of steps.

'I wouldn't say that,' Daisy said thoughtfully. 'If I were a man, then maybe.'

Daniel frowned. 'Hm.'

'What?'

'Well normally I'd agree but you don't seem like a woman who would let that sort of thing slide,' Daniel said, surprising her.

Daisy's lips parted as he looked at her with something that looked almost like admiration in his eyes. She wasn't sure if she had ever been called a _woman_ before; at least, not in that way, with respect. Her lips twitched.

'You're right. I'm not,' she said, and the two of them exchanged the briefest of half-smiles as they walked on down the next corridor.

'So these two we're releasing, are they your guys? They're CIA as well?' Daniel asked.

'That's classified,' Daisy replied, and she found herself wishing that she didn't have to keep lying to him.

'Well I really hope you're right, about these two being able to help,' Daniel said, almost agitatedly. 'I haven't told anyone else about that report, I'll admit it's sort of a relief to finally be able to speak to someone about it.'

'Oh, well I wouldn't,' Daisy said hastily. 'Not here. You never know who might be listening.'

'Oh yeah, sure, but once we move your guys to a more secure location we can get to business and decide on the next move,' Daniel said. 'Although…'

'What?'

He eyed her cynically. 'Are you sure those two can help, whoever they are? Their plan to break into my base didn't exactly end well.'

'Well it probably would have gone perfectly well if you hadn't showed up,' Daisy replied.

'Good point,' Daniel said, and he rolled his eyes as he led the way through a set of doors onto another corridor. 'My God, just shows what a disaster this place is.'

'Don't be so hard on yourself,' Daisy said in an attempt to reassure him, though she wasn't sure why she didn't just keep quiet. 'Those two are probably experts at this sort of thing-'

But Daniel scoffed. 'I doubt it, they're both _terrible_ actors,' he said, making Daisy repress a smile.

She checked her watch anxiously as they walked on; they were running out of time. The Chronicom infiltrators could be right under their noses and advancing their plan already.

'I should have known something was fishy when everyone was saying how nice this Sharpe guy was,' Daniel went on as they headed around the corner. 'I always heard he was a jerk of the highest order.'

Daisy tilted her head. 'That's not inaccurate,' she said dryly, glancing quickly at her watch again.

Daniel indicated the door to the holding cell where the two infiltrators currently were, and they came to a halt outside.

'And the lady pretending to be Carter?' Daniel said, rolling his eyes at Daisy as he turned to unlock the door. 'Worst fake accent you've ever heard.'

'You should tell her that,' Daisy said, amused, as she tried to keep herself from smiling.

Once the door had unlocked with a click, Daniel turned back to Daisy. 'Right – stand back, they may get jumpy,' he warned.

Daisy's eyebrows flickered, amusing herself with the mental imagery of Jemma and Coulson attacking her, though she appreciated Daniel's concern all the same.

Daniel then opened the squeaky door to reveal Coulson and Jemma, sat dressed in their smart fifties attire looking calm and collected and utterly unsurprised to see Daisy there waiting for them.

'Here they are. Hope it was worth the drive,' Daniel said, glancing at Daisy before giving Coulson and Jemma a nod. 'Let's go.'

The two infiltrators slowly got up and exited the cell, exchanging a look with Daisy as they met her and Daniel out in the corridor.

'I'm gonna need some time with them,' Daisy said, and as Daniel turned to look at her in confusion, she gave him a smile. 'Alone,' she added pointedly.

Daniel stared at her for a moment then glanced back at the other two. 'With all due respect to your department, not a chance,' he said firmly, and he took a step towards Daisy. 'Look, either do this with me or not at all.'

Daisy stared back at him as she racked her brains to try and come up with a solution – he was hard to argue against, after all. But then the sound of the evacuation alarm blaring through the corridors distracted them all; spinning around in horror to see what the commotion was about, Daniel didn't even notice Coulson beside him as he snapped his handcuffs in two. Daisy was surprised by how guilty she felt as she watched Coulson grab Sousa and shove him into the holding cell.

Enraged, and panic-stricken about what could possibly be happening in his base now, Daniel rushed forward to escape but he was too late; the infiltrators had already closed the door on him.

'Sorry, really!' Coulson called through the door.

'Let me out of here! Right now!' Daniel bellowed loudly from inside, livid.

'I'm a fan,' Coulson said, bolting the door to lock Daniel in and heading off down the corridor.

'He really is!' Jemma called desperately, following Coulson away while Daniel banged at the door from the inside.

Daisy hesitated for a second, conflicted, then came to her senses and followed her friends away, though not before stopping outside the door and calling in to Daniel, 'We're the good guys, I swear!'

Daniel cursed loudly as he listened to her footsteps run away and the evacuation alarm continue to drown out the other sounds of his fellow agents in the midst of the chaos. What a fool he had been. She had been playing him from the moment he'd entered his office. He'd let her catch him off guard with her flirtatious eyes, her tantalising smile, her poised demeanour, her smart quips, and her almost-threatening knowledge of his own personal history. How could he have let this happen?

_If I see her again, I'll-_

What he would do, Daniel wasn't quite sure, though he knew it would probably end up being nothing; he was just too angry with himself to think straight right now. So he tried to block out her enchanting face from his mind and focus instead on shouting for help and breaking the door down – a near impossible task with his leg and with the alarm ringing outside but still, he had to try.

Meanwhile, Daisy had caught up with Jemma and Coulson as they hurried towards the main lab of the base in their desperate search to identify the Chronicom infiltrators, though Daisy's mind was still on poor Daniel Sousa locked away in that holding cell desperately trying to bash his way out. He hadn't done anything wrong, after all, he was entirely innocent in all this; all he wanted to do was help his fellow agents, calm the situation and protect S.H.I.E.L.D.

'I feel bad, I kinda wish we didn't have to leave him in there,' Daisy admitted to the others, running a hand through her hair as they hurried along down the corridor.

'He's a big boy, I'm sure he'll get over it,' Coulson said, and he grimaced. 'But yeah, being in Agent Sousa's bad books was never one on my bucket list. When I first joined the Academy I always imagined we'd have been best buddies if he'd been in our time and now look…we've locked him in a cell.'

'Try not to dwell on it, sir,' Jemma said comfortingly, before tapping Daisy's elbow. 'So what do you think of him?'

'What d'you mean?' Daisy asked, confused.

Jemma smirked. 'Well, Peggy Carter certainly has good taste in men, don't you think?'

' _Really_ , Jemma?' Daisy said, incredulous; it was very unlike her to say something like that…but then again, when it came to the famous and wonderful Peggy Carter, she would put nothing past Jemma.

'What? I'm married, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate,' Jemma said defensively.

Daisy shrugged and nodded. 'Fair point.'

She didn't answer Jemma's question though. She liked Daniel Sousa; she thought he was a good asset to S.H.I.E.L.D. and a man of high morals judging from their brief encounter, but that was done now and their paths would most likely never cross again. He would eventually be found and released from the holding cell, by which time Daisy and the rest of the team would hopefully have managed to disable Helius and then get back on the Zephyr to jump to whatever time period the Chronicoms saw fit to destroy next, and that would be the end of it. And in a few years' time – though the thought made Daisy sad for some reason – Daniel Sousa probably wouldn't care about the woman who had broken into his office and stolen two of his prisoners…because he would have forgotten all about her.


	2. The Good Guys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x04 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

The next few hours passed in something of a blur. The undercover Chronicoms had already begun enacting their plan to sacrifice one of their own to activate the ion fusion reactor and destroy the base by the time Daisy and the others had made it to the main lab. Luckily, Daisy managed to help Jemma improve a S.H.I.E.L.D. EMP device just in the nick of time to disable Helius. However, this act didn't come without its consequences; Coulson, being an LMD, was disabled as well and was later recovered and taken into custody (again) by Daniel Sousa, who had been released from the holding cell. Daisy and the rest of the team quickly retreated to the Zephyr to try and work out a plan on how to retrieve Coulson…only to receive a phone call from him not long after, and the news he relayed was not good.

Coulson was something of a nerd when it came to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history, and today's date – June 22nd 1955 – was something he would never forget. Today, Sousa was supposed to deliver a crucial device to Howard Stark in Los Angeles…a mission that would lead to him being shot in the back and murdered, presumably at the hands of the Russians, and make him the first fallen agent – and hero – of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Today was the day Daniel Sousa died.

Daisy couldn't wrap her head around it. 'Okay, so just to clarify, the history books say that tonight, Sousa delivers that thing and then he…he dies?' she said, aghast.

Mack nodded heavily. 'Unfortunately, yes.'

There was nothing they could do, Daisy knew that. This was a fixed point in the timeline, an important part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history. Sousa was going to die, decades before his time, and they had to let him. But nothing had ever felt so wrong.

While Coulson managed to convince Sousa that he was his contact to help him deliver the unknown piece of tech to Stark, the remaining team members sought out the package. The package for Stark turned out to be a briefcase containing a device that looked extremely underwhelming, but Jemma assured the team that this device was the key for all future S.H.I.E.L.D. tech. So, while Yo-Yo and Jemma tried to locate the whereabouts of Deke, who had gone missing during the search for the package, Daisy, Mack and May took the briefcase to the Quinjet and tracked down Sousa and Coulson, who were on their train travelling to Los Angeles for the drop-off.

Once they had come aboard the train, it took them a while to locate Sousa and Coulson's whereabouts…at least, until they heard the sound of a fight coming from the dining carriage. Daisy led the way in a hurry, and opened the door to the dining carriage to see Sousa being attacked by a group of people whom she could only assume were Chronicoms. He was fighting back – and impressively too, Daisy thought, particularly for a man with a painful prosthetic leg – but all too soon the woman in the fancy dress had him pinned against the wall by the bar and was strangling him.

Daisy was there in an instant. 'May I cut in?' she asked.

Distracted, the woman looked up at Daisy just in time to see her fist before it whacked her loudly in the face, sending her flying to the floor of the carriage. Gasping for air, Daniel punched the man in the suit nearby and then turned to see who his saviour was as he stumbled backwards into the wall.

It was the CIA pretender, looking just as glamorous as when they'd met at the base before.

'You again!' he said in surprise, panting.

'Told you we're the good guys,' Daisy said breathlessly, as Mack knocked out another Chronicom who had been approaching behind them.

As one of Daniel's other attackers came at them, Daniel raised his fists but then realised he needn't have bothered; Daisy was on it straight away, knocking him to the floor as if it were easy. Daniel was stunned. She could throw a good punch, he'd give her that. Though he still felt rather bitter towards her for lying to him at the base. She'd made a fool out of him. But maybe this made up for it; if she and her companions hadn't turned up here when they did, he'd most likely be dead by now. Perhaps she was telling the truth. Perhaps these mysterious people really were 'the good guys', as she put it.

Coulson then emerged just in time as one of the other Chronicoms began to scramble to his feet. 'Too late for that drink?' he said, before whacking him with the briefcase.

Daniel watched in shock as the briefcase snapped open and half a dozen sheets of paper fell out onto the floor. There was no sign of any device or tech. Coulson glanced at him with a guilty grimace.

Daniel felt betrayed. He'd never thought himself to be a gullible man but this was just getting ridiculous. How could he have been such an idiot? _Again?_

'Stark's eyes only, huh?' Daniel said angrily, glaring at Coulson before turning to Daisy and Mack, a little overwhelmed. 'Who the hell are you people?'

'I'm Mack, this is Johnson and that's Coulson,' Mack replied. 'We're friendlies.'

'We have the package,' Daisy told Daniel.

Daniel nodded slowly, trying to think over his options. He didn't know whether to believe them – after all, they had lied to him numerous times, and complying with them would be an extremely reckless thing to do after all that had happened – but they _had_ just saved his life. And if there was a chance they were telling the truth about having Stark's package, then he had to take it.

'All right then,' Daniel said, keeping a wary eye on them all. 'Let's have it.'

Mack hesitated. 'Well, first, we need to take a little walk outside,' he said.

'I'm sorry, what?' Daniel asked, confused.

'We have a plane just outside,' Mack explained.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and glanced around at all three of them, wondering if they were playing some stupid prank on him. 'Outside what? This train?! You're telling me I need to get off a _moving train_ onto a plane that just happens to be waiting for us?' he said incredulously. 'You parked this thing by the tracks or something?'

'I know it's a little…unorthodox, but yeah,' Daisy replied awkwardly. 'Although…the plane's not on the ground, it's flying just above us actually-'

'Yeah,' Mack confirmed, 'I think May's just gonna park it on the roof-'

At this, Daniel had had enough. 'I swear to God-'

'Agent Sousa, I know it's a lot to take in, but we'll have to explain later,' Mack interrupted firmly. 'Right now we really need to get going.'

Lost for words, Daniel looked away hopelessly and his eyes found Daisy's. She looked back at him imploringly, wordlessly begging him to trust them.

Rolling his eyes, Daniel grabbed his wooden cane. 'Oh, what the hell – fine, lead the way,' he said warily to them all.

When the four of them boarded the Quinjet, Daniel felt his heart lurch forward uncomfortably – he wasn't sure whether it was with fear or excitement – as he looked around the strange plane and found somewhere to sit. Daisy was about to offer to help strap Sousa in with the buckles but he'd already worked out the complicated fastenings and sorted himself out. She sat down beside him but he didn't seem to be in the mood for talking all of a sudden as they took off. He was looking around the interior of the Quinjet with something that was more than just fascination; he was scared.

Daisy and Mack had decided prior to arriving at the train that it would be safer to bring Sousa onto the Zephyr in order to protect him for the rest of the mission – and after their altercation with the Chronicoms on the train, they knew that they had been right to make that call – but this only made things more complicated. Sousa already had enough questions for them, and taking him on board the Quinjet and then the Zephyr would only result in a thousand more. The technology and design of the Zephyr was so advanced that it would be a lot to handle even for an ordinary person in present-day, let alone someone from the fifties.

'We'll explain later', Mack had assured him. But they wouldn't, would they? They wouldn't be able to explain anything at all, because Sousa would be dead. Daisy was quite shaken by how much that fact bothered her. He was practically a stranger to them…and yet, bizarrely, it didn't feel that way.

'How's your leg?' Daisy asked him after a while, trying to distract herself from her troubled thoughts.

'A little sore, but it's been much worse plenty of times before,' Daniel replied gruffly, still looking around the plane in awe. 'How do you guys have the money to own this sort of thing?'

Daisy chuckled softly. 'If you're impressed by this, wait till you see the Zephyr. That's our headquarters,' she added in answer to his questioning look.

'I don't even wanna know…' Daniel murmured, shaking his head wearily.

'It's a bit much, I know,' Daisy said, her tone sympathetic. 'We'd go easy on you but…well, we're running out of time.'

'Don't I know it,' Daniel muttered, and he sighed and looked up at her. 'It's Johnson, right?'

'Yeah. Daisy Johnson,' Daisy replied, and she held out her hand.

'Well, Agent Johnson, I wish I could say it's a pleasure to properly meet you,' Daniel said, his lips twitching ever so slightly as he shook her hand.

'What makes you think I'm an agent?' Daisy asked curiously, frowning.

'Well am I wrong?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her.

Daisy's lips twitched. 'No…you're not wrong,' she admitted eventually.

'Where are you all from then? Who are you, where are you based?' Daniel asked.

Daisy pulled an awkward face. 'Uh…it's a bit complicated…'

'I think I can keep up.'

'I'm sure you can, but…'

'You can't say,' Daniel finished for her with a heavy nod.

'Yeah,' Daisy said apologetically. 'I can tell you where our headquarters is at the moment though.'

'Well that's something,' Daniel said, but then he frowned. 'Wait, what do you mean, "at the moment"?'

'W-well it's just a few feet away, in the..s-sky,' Daisy replied, realising too late how ridiculous she sounded.

Daniel stared at her. 'The what now?'

'It's, uh, it's an aircraft. Pretty big one – safe to say, bigger than one you'll have ever seen. It's our…mobile base of operations,' Daisy explained.

There was a pause as Daniel tried to take in her words. It took him a few moments to realise from her expression that she wasn't joking.

'Your headquarters is a big plane?' he asked.

'Yeah.'

He clasped a hand to his head. What the hell had he got himself into?

Daisy knew that look. 'You wanna be left alone?' she asked.

'Please,' Daniel muttered exasperatedly.

Daisy nodded and got up off her seat, placing her hand briefly on Daniel's shoulder as if to reassure him before walking over to sit with Mack. A lump rose in Daniel's throat at her touch, and for a moment he felt comforted and immediately regretted sending her away. For some reason, he felt like she was the one person in this strange group to keep him sane and collected on this bizarre expedition he had found himself on.

'This doesn't sit right with me,' Daisy murmured quietly to Mack as she watched Daniel look at his lap and ponder the life choices he had made in the past twenty-four hours. 'We're leading him to his death.'

'We don't have a choice. We have to maintain history,' Mack muttered, his brow furrowed.

'I don't like it,' Daisy whispered.

Mack sighed. 'Neither do I.'

They soon arrived at the Zephyr and landed so gently that Daniel barely even noticed.

'We're here,' Daisy said to Daniel, forcing a smile as he got to his feet.

Daniel said nothing and just nodded cautiously. He felt nervous.

Some heavy double doors slid automatically open as they stepped out of the Quinjet and into the Zephyr's landing bay. Daisy noticed that Sousa's limp was more pronounced as he walked forward – those Chronicoms on the train had hurt him more than he'd let on – but Daniel himself barely noticed the sharp pain in his prosthetic, as he was too busy looking around the interior of this bizarre airborne headquarters they had just arrived in.

_This isn't right_ , he thought to himself anxiously.

His eyes then fell on the British female imposter from earlier at the Area 51 base, an uncomfortable half-smile fixed on her face as Daniel approached her. Her expression was filled with guilt.

'Miss Carter,' Daniel greeted sardonically.

'Real name – Jemma Simmons,' Mack told him.

Jemma grimaced at Daniel. 'Apologies,' she said, and she held out a hand hesitantly. 'Welcome aboard?'

Daniel reached out and shook her hand. 'You've given me names, how about telling me what group you're with?' he asked them all, and he indicated their surroundings. 'Nobody _has_ aeronautics like this. Not Langley, definitely not S.H.I.E.L.D.'

Daisy glanced awkwardly at Mack as they all tried to come up with a believable answer. They'd known this would be a risk; Sousa wasn't stupid after all, and it was plainly obvious that everything the eye could see in the Zephyr was decades ahead of the current date, but what else could they do? The situation was hopeless.

'Our outfit's off the books, you've…never heard of it,' Daisy replied confidently.

'Best keep it that way,' Mack said.

'Must be _way_ off the books,' Daniel said, impressed and a little apprehensive, as he looked ahead of him to see what lay beyond in this vast aircraft.

'You have no idea,' May interjected, approaching from behind as she exited the Quinjet, and Daniel turned around.

'That's May, doing the flying,' Mack explained.

'Pretty slick,' Daniel complimented, holding out his hand and shaking May's. 'Never seen a plane on top of a train before. Or…a plane on top of a plane, for that matter.'

But the others weren't listening to him; they were all staring at May in concern, whose expression had turned suddenly panicked.

'You okay?' Coulson asked her softly.

'Wh…' May trailed off, breathing heavily as she looked around at them all, disoriented. 'Who…?'

'May?' Jemma said worriedly, stepping towards her.

May's breathing steadied somewhat as she fixed her eyes on Jemma, although she still looked rather anxious. 'Simmons,' she said in relief, and she cleared her throat. 'Sorry…I-I-I'm fine.'

After exchanging a concerned look with Daisy, Jemma turned back to May. 'I think you should come with me,' she said gently. 'Y-you're not yourself.'

Reluctantly forced to agree, May nodded and followed Jemma away, though not before glancing worriedly in Daniel's direction.

'I think I know how she feels,' Daniel said dryly, taking a few steps forwards and turning to Mack, Coulson and Daisy. 'You say you have the package? I think it's time you hand it over.'

His eyes lingered on Daisy for a moment before turning back to Mack, who seemed to be the one in charge around here.

'Come with us,' Mack said eventually, 'we've got it downstairs.'

'Downstairs?' Daniel said, shocked. 'This place has two levels?'

'Actually it has more than two,' Daisy said with a smile.

Mack and Coulson led the way down the narrow corridor and towards the steps, while Daisy remained at Daniel's side as he took in his surroundings. He couldn't believe his eyes. The aircraft – or rather, 'Zephyr 1' – was impossibly large, and moved with only a very low hum. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that they were even mid-air; it felt like they were on the ground, stationary.

Daisy watched Daniel anxiously as they walked on. He seemed to be in a permanent state of confusion and distrust.

'Are you okay?' she asked. 'It's a lot to take in, I know.'

'It's…impressive,' Daniel replied. 'Just wish I could know how this is possible and who the hell I'm working with right now, but I guess you can't have everything.'

Daisy nodded apologetically. 'It sucks, I know, I-'

'It sucks what? What d'you mean?' Daniel asked, frowning at her.

Daisy stared at him then shook her head rapidly; being on the Zephyr had almost made her forget that this was a man from seventy years in her past. 'Err…never mind, just ignore me.'

'Can I ask…what was wrong with the pilot, uh, May?' Daniel asked.

'I-I don't know,' Daisy replied, frowning. 'She's never like that…she normally comes across as more of a robot to be honest.'

'Robot, huh. Well at least I don't have to deal with one of those today,' Daniel said jokingly.

Daisy forced a laugh. 'Yeah…'

The four of them soon arrived at the loading bay, where Mack had stored the device for Stark.

Mack placed the case down on a nearby table. 'Here it is.'

They unlocked the case and opened it up. Daniel stared down at the simple rod lying there. He waited a few seconds, half-expecting them to start laughing. But they were silent, and eyeing the strange device as if it were a most valued piece of treasure.

'Really? This thing?' Daniel said sceptically, eyeing the rest of them. 'I think Stark would be more impressed by your flying headquarters.'

He looked around at the parked glossy motorcycles and what looked to be a lab through the glass window. A part of him envied them for having such a luxurious workplace. Another part of him wanted to get away from this aircraft as soon as possible.

'Our budget's also off the books,' Coulson interjected.

'Now that you have this, maybe you can give us something to help us find our missing team member,' Mack said to Daniel.

'Could be he was taken by whoever ordered the hit on the train,' Daniel suggested, locking up the case and picking it up.

'Russians?' Daisy asked.

'Normally I'd say yes but…I don't think it's the Russians who are after this,' Daniel said darkly, and Coulson and Mack exchanged a look.

Daniel glanced at Daisy. He could tell that she would believe him, even if what he was about to say might sound ludicrous. He didn't know why he was so sure of her, but he was.

'I think it's someone else,' Daniel went on.

'Was that in the report you sent the CIA?' Daisy asked.

Daniel looked at her and sighed before putting the case with the device back down. 'There's a bucket of reasons I shouldn't trust you all, but…you did save my life.'

Daisy watched him, concerned. He looked almost scared, as if he were about to reveal something truly monstrous. Daniel wondered if this was a mistake, but there was no turning back now. He had got mixed up with these mysterious people from nowhere and they'd somehow managed to encourage him to spill the dark suspicions he'd been carrying for too long – or rather, Daisy Johnson had.

He took a deep breath. 'I think S.H.I.E.L.D. has been…infiltrated. By HYDRA,' he revealed ominously.

'You got it,' Mack agreed.

'Yep,' Daisy said casually with a nod.

Daniel looked around at the three of them, utterly perplexed. He had been expecting a gasp of shock, noises of protest, exclamations of horror – certainly not _this_.

'Wait, what?!' Daniel said, baffled, as he stared at them all with wide incredulous eyes. 'How do you know that?'

'Classified,' Mack replied, 'but we're familiar with HYDRA.'

Daniel stared at Mack in shock – who _were_ these people?

That was when Daisy realised. Sousa wasn't going to get killed by Russians. He was going to get killed by HYDRA, for exposing their presence within S.H.I.E.L.D. His efforts to save the agency that had become Daisy's home, her world, her life, her everything…were going to lead to nothing other than his tragic murder.

'Who else knew about your meeting with Dr. Lindmore?' Coulson asked Daniel.

'Only my superior – also classified,' Daniel said firmly.

'Name wouldn't happen to be Malick, would it?'

Daniel looked around at Coulson, his face falling in horror. _No, it can't be._

Coulson looked at him sympathetically. 'Sorry to break it to you.'

'Wilfred Malick? No. No…you're wrong,' Daniel protested.

Daisy took a step towards him. 'We're not,' she said softly. 'I'm sorry.'

There was a silence as Daniel stared at all three of them in disbelief. He shook his head and turned away, breathing heavily.

'I need a minute,' he muttered.

'Of course,' Mack said sympathetically. 'We'll just be upstairs. Coulson, Johnson?'

Daisy reluctantly followed Mack and Coulson upstairs, and the moment Daniel was out of earshot Daisy grabbed them both by their arms.

'It's HYDRA, isn't it? They're the ones who are gonna kill him tonight?' she said urgently.

'Looks that way,' Mack replied gruffly, looking deeply uncomfortable.

'And they're just gonna get away with it while an innocent man dies just for wanting to protect S.H.I.E.L.D,' Daisy said, absolutely furious.

There was a tense silence. The team had been in many difficult situations and moral dilemmas before…but this was certainly creeping up to the top of the list.

'I'm gonna go stay with him,' Daisy said decisively.

'I think we should give him some space-'

'He's nearly out of time,' Daisy cut over Mack firmly. 'He shouldn't be alone right now.'

Mack hesitated, then nodded.

Leaving the two of them to discuss their next move, Daisy left and headed back downstairs to the loading bay. Daniel was sat on a seat against the wall, staring into space and looking utterly lost. Daisy ached with pity for him.

'Hey,' she said gently, and Daniel looked up in surprise, having not heard her approach. 'You mind if I sit here?'

'Uh…no, of course,' Daniel said, secretly grateful, and she took a seat next to him. 'This is your headquarters, after all, I'm just gate-crashing.'

'Well you're very welcome here,' Daisy said, and she meant it.

'Then why do you all keep looking at me like…' He trailed off, unsure of how to explain it…the way their faces were creased with guilt as they eyed him like he were a ticking bomb about to explode.

A lump rose in Daisy's throat. 'Like what?'

But Daniel shook his head wearily. 'Doesn't matter.'

There was a short pause. Daisy glanced at him, wondering if he could sense that his time was up…that his heartbeats were numbered. But of course he had no idea. He thought he had a life ahead of him after tonight…a career that would continue to flourish, perhaps a family to settle down with…

'So, just out of curiosity…that Jemma Simmons – she's actually British?' Daniel asked in a stunned voice, breaking Daisy out of her rather depressing reverie.

Daisy smiled at him, bemused. 'Yeah. That's her real accent.'

'Well I'll be damned,' Daniel said, and as Daisy laughed, he found himself beginning to smile slightly. 'What?'

'I just love that out of all the questions you must have, you go with that one,' Daisy said, amused.

'Well you won't answer any of my other ones, so I've gotta take what I can get,' Daniel pointed out, his smile fading.

Daisy's face fell slightly. She didn't blame him for being annoyed; if she was in his position, she would have already gone mad with frustration. She hoped her presence here was reassuring for him, and not an irritation, but right now she somehow doubted it. Still, she had to try to be there for him however she could…particularly as this was his last hour alive.

'So how are you doing?' she asked quietly. 'Really?'

Daniel's lips moved wordlessly for a moment; he couldn't think of what to say. 'I'm…this whole thing is just…God dammit, _Malick_ …how…' He trailed off in dismay.

'Are you two close?'

'No, not really but…I looked up to him,' Daniel admitted, and he shook his head. 'How sick is that?'

'You didn't know,' Daisy reassured him earnestly. 'No one does.'

'Well they will when I'm done,' Daniel said, his tone determined, but Daisy shook her head.

'You can't do anything about it. N-not yet anyway.'

_Not ever,_ she thought sadly. _You won't get a chance._

'Why?' Daniel demanded, and when Daisy didn't answer he rolled his eyes. 'Let me guess, it's another 'need-to-know'-'

'It is, actually,' Daisy interrupted. 'You just need to trust us.'

'Trust you?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows, and a hint of a sceptical smile appeared on his face, though it didn't match the pain in his eyes. 'I don't know how I can trust anyone anymore.'

Another short pause fell between them as Daisy tried but failed to come up with words of comfort. There was nothing she could do or say to make this any better…particularly when she was aware of time ticking and the fate that would soon befall him.

'I suspected they burrowed into S.H.I.E.L.D., but I thought it was the fringes,' Daniel said, sounding a little dazed. 'If someone like _Malick_ is HYDRA…' He trailed off, looking deeply shaken.

Daisy nodded heavily. 'They're dug in deep,' she murmured.

Daniel looked at her, horrified by her words, and he frowned. 'I'm not sure what's more frustrating – that you won't tell me how you know what you know or you're telling me…I can't act on it,' he said incredulously.

Daisy gazed at him imploringly. 'Malick is just…a piece of it. If you expose him right now, they'll just go deeper underground,' she explained.

'Then I'll follow them there!' Daniel said firmly, looking almost angry as he turned away from Daisy and lowered his voice. 'HYDRA took a lot of good people from me.'

A shadow crossed Daisy's face as she watched him. She could feel the pain and anger in his voice. She could feel his grief…his determination to make things right. It stunned her into silence.

'This is a fight I'll wage alone if I have to,' Daniel said, glancing at Daisy. 'I'd give my life for it.'

Daisy's lips parted. Little did he know just how much he meant those words…how they would come true in a matter of hours…

She was horrified. He didn't deserve this – well no one did, but as far as she knew, Daniel Sousa had done absolutely nothing in his life to deserve such a horrible, abrupt end. He was devoted to S.H.I.E.L.D. and to his people. He was decent – better than that, he was fundamentally _good_ at his core. There were very few people like that.

Daniel looked around at Daisy and frowned, noticing that her eyes looked suddenly rather wet. 'Are you all right?' he asked, concerned.

'Y-yeah, I'm fine,' Daisy replied hastily, clearing her throat and blinking rapidly. 'Look, if it's any consolation, I understand. Really, I do. HYDRA took people away from me, too.'

Unbidden, she thought of Lincoln, but strangely, as she conjured up the mental image of his face, she didn't feel a stab of pain. That hadn't happened before, in the years that had passed since his death.

'I'm sorry,' Daniel said softly.

'Me too. You should know…you're a good guy, Sousa,' Daisy said; it was crucial he knew this before he died. 'S.H.I.E.L.D. is lucky to have you. And I'm sorry. About the…the secrecy and the lying and everything.'

Daniel gazed at her, rather taken aback. 'I…'

He didn't know how to respond, but was distracted then as the aircraft came to a gentle stop.

'We're here,' he realised, getting to his feet.

'Yep…we are…' Daisy said, filled with dread, as she stood up as well. 'Mack and Coulson will come down and join us in a minute.'

But a minute passed, and there was no sign of Mack or Coulson. Daniel kept glancing anxiously at his watch, despite Daisy's reassurances, until two more minutes had passed and he eventually lost his temper.

'We've landed, what's the hold-up?' Daniel asked Daisy impatiently.

Daisy hesitated, not sure what to say, and wishing they didn't have to go through with this. She understood why Daniel was so agitated and desperate to leave, but she knew he wouldn't be if he knew what was waiting for him at the other end. A part of her hoped they could put it off as long as possible, but what good would that do, when it was inevitable?

'Johnson,' came Mack's voice, and they both looked up to see that Mack had appeared on the upper level, 'will you join me?'

Daisy nodded uncomfortably and, unable to look at Daniel, walked past him and up the steps. Irritated, Daniel glanced at his watch again; they were going to be late. He didn't have time for any more messing around.

He looked up at Mack. 'It's time to let me out of this plane,' Daniel said firmly, 'my drop's at nine.'

'Give us a minute,' Mack said calmly, before leading Daisy away to the command bridge, leaving Daniel alone and confused.

Once Daisy and Mack had joined Coulson by the control centre, Mack turned to Daisy and took a deep breath.

'There's a change of plan, with Sousa's drop-off tonight,' Mack announced. 'We're gonna save him.'

Daisy's lips parted as she looked at Mack in shock.

'We won't let him get near that place,' Mack continued firmly. 'We'll find a way to make the drop for him and figure out the rest after.'

Daisy smiled, overwhelmed by how giddy and happy such news could make her feel about someone she barely knew. 'Cool,' she said, trying to sound casual as she nodded smugly. 'Writing some new history. Copy that.'

'It's the Director's call,' Coulson said.

'Let's make some waves,' Mack said decisively.

'Or better still, we can find another way to save him without changing history,' Coulson suggested.

'How do we do that?' Daisy asked.

Coulson smiled. 'We fake his death.'

Mack nodded slowly. 'I like it. You get working on that, I'll tell the others what we're doing and Johnson, you stay with Sousa and keep an eye on him, he seems to trust you more than the rest of us,' he instructed, and his words made Daisy feel rather touched for some bizarre reason.

'But…hold on a second,' Daisy said, frowning. 'I like this plan but don't you think we should talk to Sousa about this first before we do anything? Like, maybe we should tell him the truth and-?'

'The truth? Seriously?' Mack said, incredulous. 'How d'you think he'd react to that, how would anyone?!'

'He's right, Daisy,' Coulson said grimly. 'We can't just walk up to him and say, "Just to let you know, Agent Sousa, we're from the future and we're here fighting robots from an alien planet – oh, and also, you're about to die in less than half an hour so are you all right if we pull you out of your time period and trap you here with us?" I can't see it going down very well.'

'Hey, I don't want Sousa to die. And I'm glad you want to save him, because if you hadn't suggested it, I probably would have done it myself,' Daisy said. 'But it doesn't seem right to just…abduct him like this without him knowing what's going on or having a choice in what happens, I mean…how would this even work?'

'If we can find a way to fake his death, then the timeline won't be changed,' Mack replied, 'he will still inspire all future S.H.I.E.L.D. agents-'

'But we can't just pull him out of his life without-'

'It's either that or let him get murdered for trying to save S.H.I.E.L.D from HYDRA,' Mack interrupted Daisy firmly. 'We don't have time for anything else, and we can't discuss the pros and cons of each option with Sousa, the drop-off's too close. The matter just comes down to the basic choice of life or death, and it's right here right now that we need to decide to do this. So…are you with us, Agent Johnson?'

There was a short silence as Daisy looked at Mack and Coulson, and then a determined smile spread across her face. 'Let's go save our guy.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I've done for now but I hope you've enjoyed so far. Any suggestions/ways I can improve my writing style please do let me know! I'll hopefully get the next chapter written and uploaded sometime soon after this weekend :)


	3. A Man Out Of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episodes 7x04-7x05 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The medical bay was deadly quiet. Daisy was perched on a chair, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. She had rested, showered and dressed into some normal clothes from her own time period for once, which was refreshing. She wasn't sure why she felt such an overwhelming flood of relief at the sight of Daniel Sousa lying there on the bed.

She had been so worried last night when she'd heard the rumble of her motorcycle's engine as Sousa had escaped the Zephyr to deliver the package without saying anything to them…she'd thought that that was it, that they'd missed their chance to save Sousa, that they'd never see him again…but luckily, they hadn't been too late. Coulson and Mack had managed to find him and shoot him with an I.C.E.R. gun, where they had then brought his unconscious figure back to the Zephyr just before Coulson returned to pose as Sousa.

Everything had gone to plan – the device had been delivered to Stark, Coulson had successfully managed to fake Sousa's death, and they had preserved history by taking Sousa out of the timeline. Now all that was left to do was tell Sousa what had happened and what it meant for him. Daisy wasn't sure if she was ready to face that.

There was a gentle tap on the door; Daisy tore her eyes away from Sousa to see Coulson stood there in the open doorway. 'Daisy,' he greeted quietly. 'You okay?'

'I'm fine, yeah,' Daisy replied, and she smiled. 'We did the right thing.'

'We did,' Coulson agreed, nodding. 'The question is…what do we do with him now?'

'Well he's S.H.I.E.L.D,' Daisy said thoughtfully, shrugging. 'He might wanna stay and help us.'

But Coulson was frowning. 'It would be too overwhelming, don't you think? To wrap your head around all this? Time-travel, the Chronicoms…him not being able to go back to '55…'

'Yeah, I guess. Must be so hard…' Daisy murmured. 'So what's the alternative? We can't just drop him off wherever we jump to next, people might still recognise him. It's not like there are no photos of him from the fifties.'

'I know,' Coulson said heavily. 'I guess that's just something we'll have to figure out.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows. 'And we need to find out what he wants,' she said firmly.

'Agreed.'

There was a silence as Daisy turned back to look at Sousa. He looked so peaceful lying there. No doubt he would have a hell of a headache when he woke up…and the news of his current predicament wouldn't exactly make it go away. Coulson cocked his head slightly as he watched Daisy gazing worriedly over at Sousa's unconscious figure. He was surprised; they'd had many agents and civilians come in and out of their lives throughout the duration of their many draining missions, and in all that time Daisy had never really become attached to any of them so quickly. Well, not since Lincoln anyway.

'He'll be okay,' Coulson reassured her. 'Eventually.'

'I know,' Daisy murmured, nodding.

'Anyway, c'mon. Time for the debrief.'

Taking one last look at Sousa, Daisy got up from her seat and followed Coulson back upstairs to the command bridge. Once the whole team was assembled, Jemma informed them all that the Zephyr was due to jump forward in a few minutes' time, and also had news regarding May's newfound empathic powers; it seemed that, since her recovery, May had somehow developed the ability to feel other people's emotions at a single touch.

'That's why you freaked out after you shook hands with Sousa when he first came on board,' Daisy realised, and she sighed. 'The poor guy must have been so confused.'

'Yeah…and that isn't going to get any better for him when he wakes up,' Deke pointed out.

'Someone needs to be there for when he does,' Mack said.

'I'll do it,' Daisy offered at once.

'It's all right, Daisy, it should be me,' Coulson said, to Daisy's disappointment. 'I mean, it makes sense – who better to explain what's happened to him than a guy who's already experienced in coming back to life?'

She had to admit, he had a fair point.

It wasn't long after Coulson had gone downstairs to the medical bay when the Zephyr jumped forward in time again. The team soon assembled in the command bridge, where they tried tuning into the local radio stations to figure out what year the Chronicoms had led them to. Eventually, the rock song 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' began blaring out through the speakers. Daisy slowly looked up to exchange an exasperated look with her team members…only to be met with the surprising sight of Sousa, whom Coulson had already brought up to the command bridge. He was stood there looking extremely confused by the sound of the song…and also looking far more calm and collected than any of them could have predicted.

'So…where are we? I mean… _when_ are we?' Daniel asked the room at large.

Jemma leaned away from the control panel. '1973,' she announced.

'1973?' Daniel repeated, dazed.

_How can this be happening?_

He wondered if he was hallucinating or dreaming. Or perhaps this was all some elaborate prank, or a test even. But he doubted it. When he'd woken merely five minutes ago, Coulson had explained the situation to him. Daniel was now technically dead, according to everyone that had ever known or heard of him, after HYDRA had taken him out – or so the history books said, apparently. Instead Coulson had shot Daniel unconscious with an I.C.E.R – a type of firearms from the future that could knock a person out but never fatally wound – and his death had been faked, and Daniel pulled out of the timeline as a result. This aircraft, Zephyr 1, was the mobile headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D. from many years in Daniel's future, and it enabled them to travel through time. Their team was currently engaged in a war against robots from another planet who wanted to take out S.H.I.E.L.D., change history for the worst and wipe out all of humanity. Daniel hoped it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

He still didn't really know what to think. Robots, he could handle. Time-travel, he could handle. He'd experienced many unbelievable things in the past ten years of his life, after all. But to be told that his life in 1955 had ended and that there was no going back…Daniel wasn't sure how to process this, or if he even could. He felt like he needed to mourn but he didn't know how.

On the outside, he was trying to take this news all in his stride, but he wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep it up. On top of being overwhelmed and in a seemingly permanent state of confusion, Daniel also felt ill, almost hungover. His head was all foggy and he ached all over. He wondered if the dizziness was an aftereffect of the I.C.E.R. gun he had been shot with, or a delayed reaction of shock to the news Coulson had just relayed to him.

Everyone in his world, everyone he knew, thought he was dead. The only people who knew the truth were the group of strangers on this plane. Although, not _all_ of them felt like strangers.

He barely noticed the rest of the group as they talked about the seventies and what to expect and what their next move should be, as Daisy Johnson had begun walking over, her eyes focussed only on him, her expression filled with concern. He felt something – was it relief? – wash over him as she arrived at his side.

'Hey. It's okay,' she said reassuringly. 'Coulson explained everything to you?'

'The basic gist,' Coulson interjected from nearby. 'I haven't had time to go through everything. We'd better start preparing anyway…'

'I'll be with you all soon, just give me a minute,' Daisy said, as the rest of the team began to depart to get ready for their mission. 'How are you doing, really?'

'I'm…I'm okay. I think,' Daniel said unsurely, frowning as he leant on his cane.

'It must be a shock,' Daisy said, but then she closed her eyes with a sigh. 'That didn't mean to sound so patronising.'

A weak hint of a smile appeared on Daniel's lips. 'So…what happens now?'

'Now we…well…I'll give you a quick tour of the Zephyr but we're gonna need to head out there as soon as we've landed in New York,' Daisy said apologetically.

'New York…in 1973.'

Daisy swallowed. 'Y-yeah. So…what exactly did Coulson tell you?'

'Oh, y'know, just that you're all time-travelling S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the future trying to stop body-snatching robots from another planet from taking over the world,' Daniel replied dryly.

Daisy grimaced; when he put it like that, the situation did seem pretty dire…how had he not fainted yet?! 'Okay, cool, cool…'

'Cool?'

'Ignore me. And you…you _do_ believe him then? Us?' Daisy asked, surprised.

'W-well yeah. I think so, at least. This plane is pretty good proof for starters. Also, you're all very…weird. None of you seemed to fit in when we met, and now I know why,' Daniel said, and his face fell. 'Guess the roles are reversed now.'

But Daisy was shaking her head at him. 'You don't need to worry about that.'

'I think I do. I just died and been transported to eighteen years ahead of my time,' Daniel said; it frightened him just to speak those words and know them to be his new reality. 'I'll stand out like a sore thumb.'

'Well…you could always stay here, make yourself at home for now?' Daisy suggested. 'Then once we're done, we'll come back and go through everything with you-'

'No, I…I don't want that, I'll come with you,' Daniel said firmly.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid of being alone right now. He needed a comforting presence to help him through this while he adjusted, and for some reason Daisy seemed to be the right person for that.

'Okay. We just need to try and work out what the Chronicoms' next move will be and then…'

'The Chronicoms being the robots Agent Coulson told me about, the ones who can melt and steal people's face?' Daniel asked.

Daisy's eyes widened awkwardly. 'Uh, yeah…you got it.'

'Right. Okay,' Daniel said, nodding.

_It's just another day at S.H.I.E.L.D_., Daniel told himself. Though he was finding it harder to believe it with each second that passed.

Daisy was staring at him, looking baffled. 'You…'

'I…what?'

'How are you so calm about this? I mean, you're taking this a lot better than a normal person would,' she said, bemused.

Daniel shrugged, a part of him wondering why he felt somewhat smug at her comment. 'I'm not so normal. I've seen some very _ab_ normal things on the job, let me tell you.'

'Like your cases with Peggy Carter? I'm aware,' Daisy said, and Daniel cocked an eyebrow at her. 'But this…what we're up against now, what we're doing, travelling through time…even _I_ think it's crazy and that's saying a lot.'

The way she said it made Daniel wonder if she had a lot of interesting stories of previous missions to tell. He hoped he would be able to hear them one day.

'We don't wanna throw you in the deep end,' Daisy went on.

'You think I can't handle it?' The way he said it was almost playful, but Daisy could tell his nonchalant attitude was just an act, to help him cope, and she didn't blame him.

'I…we just don't wanna overload you, that's all,' Daisy explained.

'I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, no matter what the date is,' Daniel said determinedly. 'What else am I gonna do, shut myself away in this plane from the future and dwell over my death? I'd rather keep myself busy on a mission.'

Daisy nodded. She understood better than most the desire to keep preoccupied and do literally anything to avoid being left alone with your dark thoughts. She also admired him for his devotion to S.H.I.E.L.D.; he reminded her very much of Coulson in that way. No wonder Daniel had been Coulson's inspiration at the Academy.

Aware of time ticking and the Chronicoms having already had a head start, Daisy gave Daniel a very brief tour of the Zephyr while the rest of the group assembled their things and prepared for the next mission – although it was hard to rush around when Daniel was trying to catch up with his cane. He was astonished; the Zephyr had multiple levels, bedrooms, a kitchenette, a living space, bathrooms…it was practically a flying house.

' _Make yourself at home,'_ Daisy had said.

But it was just beginning to dawn on Daniel that he didn't want to do that. How could he ever call a place like this home? How could he ever want to stay here, living on a dangerous time-travelling plane with a bunch of people he barely knew who were way ahead of his time? He just wanted to get off. Even more so, he wanted his old life back.

'You okay?' Daisy said once she'd shown him around the main areas, to Daniel's irritation; she kept asking him that. 'You're a bit quiet.'

Daniel turned to face her with raised eyebrows. 'Do you really think I'm okay?' he asked sceptically. 'Would _you_ be?'

Daisy's face fell guiltily. 'Sorry,' she said in a small voice, averting her eyes. 'Look, uh, we've landed so we'll be heading out soon…I just need to check in with Mack, I'll be back in a minute.'

She began to walk away down the narrow corridor, but with a sigh Daniel called after her.

'Agent Johnson,' he said, and she stopped as he walked towards her. 'I hope I don't seem ungrateful…for all you guys have done. You saved my life. Again. I just, uh…' He trailed off, unsure of how to explain it.

Daisy gave him a sympathetic smile. 'I know. Really.'

'But thank you,' Daniel said sincerely.

Daisy considered him for a moment. 'You've got a choice, you know. If you want…we can go our separate ways, you can…build a new life for yourself somewhere here in 1973 – it would just have to be far away from S.H.I.E.L.D. assets, but that's doable and we could help you do it. It's…a crazy situation for you to be in, I know, but…the option's there,' she said, and she sighed. 'You never signed up for this, with the Chronicoms and the time-travel, and…it's bad enough having to come to terms with what happened in '55. I'm just saying, if you want space, if you want to just start something new…well, I wanna help.'

Daniel thought over her words for a moment, a warm expression on his face as he looked at Daisy and remembered just how angry he'd felt towards her for lying to him and leaving him in the holding cell back at the Area 51 base. How times changed – quite literally, in their case.

He took a step towards her. 'I appreciate that. Really. And…I'm not gonna lie, I'll probably take you up on that offer,' Daniel said, and Daisy felt her heart sink slightly. 'But right now I'm not just gonna abandon S.H.I.E.L.D., I can't. I wanna know what's going on. And if I can be of any help then…even better.'

Daisy began to smile. 'So you wanna come with us?'

'Sure.'

'Ok, well…great. It'll take a bit of getting used to,' Daisy warned him. 'It did for me the first time we jumped.'

Daniel nodded thoughtfully. 'If I feel like I'm gonna pass out or throw up, you'll be the first to know,' he assured her, his lips twitching.

Daisy grinned back at him. 'Okay,' she said, chuckling softly, and, with an awkward gesture, she left to find the rest of the team.

Within the next ten minutes, the allocated team for the mission – Coulson, May, Daisy and Daniel – was ready and assembled in the loading bay. Daniel was looking very apprehensive but felt somewhat relieved when he saw Daisy emerging down the steps to join them.

'So…what's the plan?' he asked her, as she came over to him.

'Well there's an old speakeasy in New York, used in secret as a S.H.I.E.L.D. hideout,' Daisy said.

'Yeah, I know it. That place is still going in 1973?' Daniel asked, impressed.

'It's pretty popular, yeah. And our friend's there – Enoch. He'll have been gathering intel and…well, we need to pick him up.'

Daniel frowned, confused. 'You've already got someone from your team there? How?'

'Enoch's been there for…quite a few years,' Daisy replied awkwardly. 'When we last came to New York – this was before we met you – the Zephyr jumped and he didn't make it back in time.'

'So he's been stuck here? For how long? How old will he be?' Daniel asked, alarmed.

'Well…let's just say, Enoch's not the kind of guy who has to worry about ageing,' Daisy replied mysteriously.

'I don't understand.'

But Daisy merely smiled. 'All in good time.'

Daniel sighed. Perhaps one day she would explain everything. He had to hold out hope for that. But for now, he was in the dark. Again.

'But before we do that, we've got a more important task ahead of us,' Daisy said.

'What's that?' Daniel asked warily.

Daisy beamed at him. 'We need to get some clothes.'

*****

New York city in 1973 was vastly different from when Daisy and the others had first time-travelled there. It was bright and colourful, loud and bustling, filled with honking cars and delicious smells of street food, and filled with noisy people dressed in flamboyant clothes that made Daniel scoff in horror. Daisy watched Daniel carefully as he took in the extraordinary sights. He was handling it surprisingly well, considering.

While on the hunt for appropriate seventies attire, Coulson and May started bickering, so Daisy decided to leave them to it – the two of them needed time alone after all, to figure out where they stood in their complicated relationship – and dragged Daniel off to a different clothes store nearby.

'I still don't see what's wrong with what I'm wearing now,' Daniel protested as they headed inside the store.

'Okay, you _did_ see everyone out there, didn't you? The flared pants, the bright colours, the overalls, all that jazz?' Daisy said, raising her eyebrows at him. 'We need to blend in with that.'

Daniel pulled a face. 'I'm really not sure I want to. But…I guess I should.'

'I feel your pain. Now c'mon, let's have a look around.'

Daisy picked out an outfit rather quickly, which she had bought and changed into before Daniel had even had time to properly adjust his eyes to the sight of the clothes displayed around the shop.

'I'm feeling a little under pressure here, I…oh,' Daniel said, blinking rapidly as he turned around to see Daisy in her new outfit. 'You've already got your stuff.'

He was surprised; she looked good. She was wearing fancy heeled sandals, bootcut jeans, and a checkered purple blazer over a crisp white shirt.

'Yeah, guess I've kind of got used to doing this,' Daisy replied, and she smirked at him. 'Shall I just leave you to it?'

Daniel nodded firmly, glad that she could see he needed a little time alone. 'Please. I've got the money you gave me, I'm all right.'

'Okay, I'll wait outside. See you in a few minutes.'

She headed out onto the pavement, and checked her reflection in the window as she waited for Daniel to emerge. She didn't understand why she wanted to take extra care in making sure her hair was in place and her blazer and pants fitted well. Before she could even ponder on the matter, a tense-looking May and Coulson then arrived, dressed in their own fabulous outfits they'd just purchased. May asked how Daniel was handling the transition, but the honest truth was, Daisy had no idea; although she was astounded by how well Daniel seemed to be coping on the outside, who knew how he was really feeling deep down?

The door to the clothes store then opened and out stepped an agitated-looking Daniel, still dressed in his suit from 1955.

'What happened to blending in?' Daisy asked, disappointed, as she looked him up and down.

She didn't mind the suit personally – in fact, he looked extremely dapper in it – but to wear something like that during daylight in the streets of seventies' New York wasn't exactly going to help him lie low.

Daniel pulled a face. 'I just…don't understand the functional appeal of those…elephant…pants,' he replied awkwardly.

'You mean the bell-bottoms?' she asked, her lips twitching; she loved that, out of everything, it was the seventies' clothes that was beginning to freak him out the most.

'Sure. How do people in your time function with all the extra fabric around their feet?' Daniel asked, utterly baffled, and Daisy laughed softly.

'I got news for you – this isn't actually our time period,' Coulson said, and Daniel looked round at him in shock.

'Well, fortunately, there's unfashionable squares in every decade so you are…set,' Daisy said to Daniel, trying but failing to sound reassuring.

Unconvinced, Daniel turned away and looked at all the passers-by on the street in their ridiculous costumes. How could this be real? He felt as if he were in a dream…the most bizarre dream he'd ever had in his entire life.

'And nobody seems to look you in the eye now,' Daniel noted, as they set off walking down the street together.

'Huh, wait 'til they all get cell phones,' May said.

Daniel didn't want to ask what she meant. 'So, I was thinking…how do you guys know I was supposed to die in 1955?' he said, as they began to cross the road.

'It's in the history books,' Coulson replied, as Daniel paused briefly to admire a car parked near to them.

'Yeah but…but what if you always…plucked me out of time? Does that mean I always survived? And if we end up in your present, will we…even be in the same timeline?' Daniel asked, sounding utterly perplexed.

'I'd stop thinking about it, your brains will spill out,' Daisy advised, her head already aching by the mere thought of Daniel's interesting points.

'Simmons can explain…sort of, but…maybe you'd feel more comfortable staying back on Zephyr 1,' Coulson suggested.

'No! No, no, no,' Daniel said at once, and Daisy smiled. 'I'm here, no going back, might as well…dive in and embrace the 1970s.'

He sounded almost convinced by his bracing tone…but then a man with long hair wearing short, bright yellow shorts came zooming past them on rollerblades, carrying a noisy boombox playing thumping beats. There was a silence as they all turned to look at Daniel. Daisy couldn't even begin to imagine how overwhelming this must be for him. Staring with wide eyes, Daniel then nodded and turned around.

'Starting now,' he added, and Daisy smirked, impressed, as he led the way calmly along the street. 'I can't believe this old hideout is still running.'

'Did you ever stop by back in the day?' Coulson asked.

'Once or twice,' Daniel replied, as they approached the steps leading down to the speakeasy entrance. 'Only the top brass knew about it. Good place to lie low.'

'Oh, yeah?' Coulson said, while they stopped to check that no one was following them. 'I wish I could've seen it back then. I heard Dooley had a reserved booth with one of those plaque things next to it-'

'Okay, Dad, let's…not keep Enoch waiting any longer,' Daisy interrupted, glancing at Daniel and smiling. 'He's been chilling for, like, four decades.'

Daniel frowned as they followed her down the steps. _Four decades?!_

As Coulson typed in the password on a screen attached to the door, Daniel felt himself relax a little bit. Through this door was the one thing Daniel was familiar with: the real S.H.I.E.L.D…only, _was_ it familiar anymore? Or would it be all too different? What if the agency Daniel had dedicated his life to and sacrificed everything for been turned into something completely unrecognisable?

The door opened; Coulson and May stepped through, but Daniel hesitated. Unfamiliar music was blaring out, along with the sounds of talk and laughter. Daniel felt himself tense up slightly but then he glanced at Daisy beside him and she gave him an encouraging, almost bashful smile. And that was all it took for Daniel to smile back and follow her through into the unknown.


	4. The Old Speakeasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x05 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Inside, there seemed to be some sort of event going on; the speakeasy was packed with people, presumably for a celebration or announcement of some kind. Music was playing, everyone was drinking and having a great time. Their clothes still looked ludicrous to Daniel, and the songs playing were something else entirely.

Daisy walked up to Daniel, watching him carefully as he looked around in awe. 'You look like you could do with a drink.'

'I really could, but I wouldn't have put you down for one to be drinking on the job, Agent Johnson,' he said dryly, his lips twitching slightly as he looked at her. 'Unless those rules have changed in the future and all agents frequently get drunk during a mission now? I feel like nothing would surprise me anymore.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. 'I actually meant a glass of water,' she clarified, smiling. 'Might help.'

'Oh,' Daniel said awkwardly. 'Well then…yes please. Thanks.'

Once Daisy had got them both drinks from the bartender, she went over to get them all a booth and keep a lookout on what was going on, leaving Daniel to chat with Coulson by the bar. According to the bartender, Enoch hadn't been at the speakeasy in over a year, which worried them greatly. General Rick Stoner, who had changed a great deal since Daniel had last seen him in 1955, was there for today's gathering, and soon announced to the crowd that they were kicking off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s next phase in global security…only to reveal the man responsible, Wilfred Malick, who should have died in 1970. It turned out that Malick was initiating Project Insight, which wasn't meant to be developed for another forty years. The Chronicoms must have intervened to start the project several decades early, as they had threatened to Coulson that they would alter the timeline.

'You're saying the timeline is already broken?' Daniel said to Coulson, frowning. 'So I died for nothing?'

'You look alive to me,' Coulson said.

'Well maybe you should have left me. I could've stopped HYDRA back then,' Daniel said indignantly.

'No telling how that would've played out, especially with the Chronicoms involved,' Coulson murmured.

Daniel frowned as he looked around the bar, annoyed. 'Looks like we have some work to do.'

'Let's make the rounds, get some intel on Project Insight, keep an eye out for Enoch,' Coulson said, and they both got up to their feet. 'Oh, and one more thing – keep a low profile. You're kind of famous among S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. You get made, the jig is up.'

Daniel nodded. 'Got it. I'll stay off the radar,' he said, but then he paused. 'Is that a thing? "Off the radar"?'

'We still have that,' Coulson confirmed.

They split up, but as Daniel walked around, trying to remain unnoticed as he tried to listen in to the others agents' conversations on Project Insight, a part of him felt like laughing at Coulson's comment. Famous. _Him?_ The idea was ludicrous. Almost as ludicrous as the fact that an event from four decades in the future was on the brink of happening now…which happened to be almost twenty years in Daniel's future. Or was this Daniel's present now? He wasn't sure. He couldn't wrap his head around any of it. If only he had a touchstone, something constant and reliable to hold onto in this strange new world he'd become engulfed in…

Meanwhile Daisy was sat at a table, keeping an eye on a few of the agents as she sipped her drink. And then a male voice from behind began to speak to her.

'Uh, my brother's so miserable at these things,' he said, and Daisy looked up to see a young man stood there beside her; she followed his gaze to the shy-looking man stood in the corner of the bar. 'If Nathaniel had his way, he'd be at home listening to The Carpenters on his hi-fi.'

'Nathaniel,' Daisy said in surprise, and she looked back up at him. 'So that must make you…Gideon Malik?'

The man grinned at her. 'Guilty as charged,' he said, taking the seat opposite her.

Daisy repressed a shudder as she remembered the Gideon she had known in present-day…she looked at his younger self and thought of everything he was going to do to them at S.H.I.E.L.D. when he was older…the hell she had gone through because of this monstrous man…and yet looking at him now, you'd think he was nothing more than just a harmless sleazy man.

'If you've heard of me, that can't be a bad thing,' Gideon said, looking at Daisy with what he clearly believed to be seductive eyes as he pushed one of his two beer bottles towards her across the table.

'Yeah, well everyone knows you're in line to be the…next big thing,' Daisy said, trying not to sound too cynical or horrified.

'Well, to be clear, it's not nepotism,' Gideon said. 'Definitely earned my spot.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him; she sincerely doubted that. 'Definitely, yeah,' she said, forcing a small laugh. 'Self-made…but you must hear all the secrets about S.H.I.E.L.D. from your dad?'

Gideon shrugged. 'Some. Lately he's been locked up in his windowless office all day but, uh, I'm in the loop,' he replied. 'But enough about my dad, let's talk about us.'

Daisy's eyes widened as he wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously at her.

'Maybe you start by telling me your name,' he suggested.

A false smile spread on Daisy's face as she stared at him, repulsed. 'Ha…I actually have to get going, so that's…'

But she trailed off awkwardly as she stood up and Gideon got up to his feet as well.

'How about you stick around?' he asked, almost forcefully, and he took a step towards her. 'Maybe we could share some secrets of our own.'

Daisy eyed him sceptically but before she could come up with a response, she heard a familiar voice from behind.

'Sweetheart?'

Blinking rapidly, Daisy turned around, confused; it was Sousa, walking towards them on his cane. To her surprise, she felt her heart skip a beat.

Exchanging a quick glance with Daisy, Daniel sidled up to her. _'Sweetheart'_ , he'd called her. What was he thinking?! He wasn't sure what had made him say it, but he'd seen that she needed rescuing from this creep and it was too late to turn back now. He just had to run with it and hoped she would play along.

Daniel fixed his eyes on Gideon pointedly. 'Who's your new friend?' he asked, standing close to Daisy.

A smile spreading on her face, Daisy leaned towards Daniel as she looked back at Gideon, filled with relief. 'This is Gideon Malick,' she said, as Gideon looked back at them icily.

Without thinking, Daniel wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on the small of her back, shocking Daisy, but she kept her smile fixed firmly on her face as she looked back almost challengingly at Gideon. She wondered if Daniel could feel the same heat, the same tickle as if they'd been hit with a spark of electricity the moment they'd touched…and then she wondered if she was going crazy.

_What's wrong with me? This never happens to me, never._

Daisy drew herself closer to Daniel to play along with his ruse, and pressed the palm of her hand affectionately against his chest. 'Gideon, this is…'

'Her fiancé,' Daniel finished for her, surprised by how natural it felt to be holding her close to him like this.

Daisy glanced down shyly, smiling. She felt flustered. _Why_ was she flustered?! It made no sense.

Daniel turned to Daisy. 'Honey, I think we need to go,' he said softly, stroking the small of her back.

'Oh,' Daisy said, and she turned back to Gideon with a smile before reluctantly letting go of Daniel. 'Excuse us…'

Rattled, she walked away from Gideon hastily, her smile fading as the confusion began to take hold. Daniel followed her slowly, taking care to pause by Gideon and fix him with a deadly stare before walking away.

'You're welcome for the drink,' Gideon called after Daisy bitterly.

'Don't worry, I'll pay you back later,' Daisy muttered wearily, as she and Daniel walked away from him together.

'What was _that_ about?' Daniel murmured to her.

'Long story,' Daisy said with a sigh, 'but apparently…Freddy's son Nathaniel is still alive, and he was also supposed to die in 1970.'

Daniel's face creased with worry. 'Another change in the timeline…get any intel?' he asked.

'No. But I did get a clue on where we could find some,' Daisy said, and she led them away through the crowd of agents towards the back-end of the bar.

As they walked, Daisy turned back to Daniel nervously.

'Thank you for, uh, saving the day back there, by the way,' she said, tucking a front strand of her hair to move it back in place.

'Huh? Oh…well, I thought he seemed a charmer,' Daniel said sarcastically, and he swallowed. 'But, uh, I'm sorry about the whole…fiancé thing, I was just thinking on the spot, first thing I could come up with…'

'Oh no, don't be sorry, it worked great. You can do that anytime I'm in that situation,' Daisy said, forcing a laugh.

Daniel blinked rapidly as he tried not to smile. They'd arrived at a door around the back of the bar, leading to what Daniel assumed was some sort of storeroom. Daisy tentatively pushed open the door; luckily, there was no one inside.

'He mentioned a windowless office,' she said, as they stepped through and Daniel closed the door behind them. 'Malick must be using this space.'

She went immediately to the steel bookcase at the far wall. Feeling around, Daisy then reached up to the hanging lamp and moved it to the side; there was a click, and to Daniel's astonishment, the bookcase began to slide into the wall. It was a hidden doorway. Daisy turned back to Daniel to see his reaction. He looked amazed.

'What, you've been here before?' he asked in surprise.

'A few days ago,' Daisy replied casually with a shrug, a hint of a smug smile on her face. '1931.'

She headed into the secret room and turned on the light switch. 'He redecorated,' she noted, as Daniel followed her in.

The room was small and dingy, but filled with various gadgets and numerous computer monitors and machines. Malick had clearly been very busy.

'Woah, high-tech,' Daniel said, impressed.

Daisy looked round at him slowly; boy, did he have a lot to learn. 'It must be his new base of operations,' she said, as Daniel shut the door behind them.

She sat down at the nearest computer screen, as it was already lit up; Malick must have been active on it earlier today. While Daniel looked around the room, she began typing away to try and hack into the system…though it was hard when it was so ancient compared to what she was used to.

'HYDRA won't be needing this, will they?' Daniel asked.

Daisy glanced up and smiled slightly; he'd found a pistol and was slipping it into his suit jacket pocket.

'The good thing about computers in 1973…no firewalls,' Daisy said, typing away.

Perplexed, Daniel walked round to the other side of the desk. 'I have no idea what that means,' he said, peering over her shoulder at the screen.

He couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was doing with this computer, but he was impressed; she certainly seemed to have a skill for it.

'What are you looking for?' Daniel asked her, as orange writing began filling the computer screen.

'It's a list of targets for Insight,' Daisy realised, quickly reading through the writing on the screen. 'These must be S.H.I.E.L.D. assets…wait – Bruce Banner!'

'Never heard of him,' Daniel murmured.

'That's 'cause he's just a kid now but in a few decades he becomes an Avenger,' Daisy said, horrified.

'Is that a…good thing or a bad thing?' Daniel asked, frowning.

'It's a good thing,' Daisy replied; she'd forgotten that there was a lot she needed to catch Daniel up on.

Daniel straightened up, concerned. 'S-so they'll do a bad thing – pick him off while he's still young.'

'Exactly,' Daisy murmured, staring at the screen in dismay.

Agitated, Daniel walked back around to the other side of the tiny office. 'I'm starting to think you guys made the timeline worse than it was before,' he said, almost accusingly.

Daisy sighed, sensing his irritation. 'We have no time to speculate-' she began, getting up from her seat, but Daniel cut over her sharply.

'Speculate? This is more than just a trout in the milk.'

Daisy tilted her head at him slightly, confused.

Daniel sighed. 'There's only one way HYDRA could have gotten names from the future,' he said darkly.

Daisy's lips parted in horror. If he was right – which Daisy knew he most likely was – then the situation was far worse than they'd originally feared.

'If Malick's in league with the Chronicoms then…at least one of them must have stayed here from 1955,' Daisy said fearfully, and she got up to her feet, panicked. 'We've gotta regroup with the others.'

Daniel was shaking his head irritably. 'I told Coulson you should have left me in '55,' he muttered, 'I could have tried to prevent this-'

'You couldn't have, you died that night!' Daisy pointed out.

'But I didn't. See?' Daniel said, gesturing himself. 'Not dead. Thanks to you guys.'

'But you were meant to.'

'"Meant to"?' Daniel said, and his voice shook slightly. 'What does that even mean?'

Daisy swallowed, unsure of what to say.

Daniel shook his head. 'You're all parading around the timeline rewriting all kinds of events, just deciding you're the ones in control. You should have let me stay there.'

'But then history would have changed even more. You don't realise how important you are, Sousa,' Daisy said earnestly, 'you're everyone's hero in S.H.I.E.L.D., you inspired future agents-'

'Well I never wanted to be a hero!' Daniel snapped, stunning Daisy into silence, and he sighed in frustration. 'I just wanted to do a good job, and I've failed at doing even that. Because now things are even worse than they were before you came to 1955 and changed things, and if I'd exposed HYDRA earlier then perhaps none of this would have happened. But it's too late, you did what you did and now I'm stuck here and there's no going back and the timeline's a mess. And that's that.'

There was a silence as they both simply stood there, avoiding each other's eye contact and breathing heavily. The tension in the air was palpable.

Eventually, Daniel let out a heavy sigh. 'I'm sorry,' he murmured, and they looked at each other. 'I…I don't mean to take it out on you personally, I just…'

'I know,' Daisy said softly. 'I understand.'

But Daniel chuckled dryly without humour. 'No, you don't. No one here understands,' he said. 'That's the problem, I'm-'

'Don't say you're alone in this, because you're not. I know you don't know us well yet but we're your allies, we're your friends. We wanna help. And we want the same thing as you – to do a good job. For S.H.I.E.L.D.,' Daisy said, and she placed her hand briefly on his arm. 'Now c'mon, let's find the others and sort out a plan. We can still stop them.'

Daniel looked at her for a moment then nodded, and the two left Malick's secret office. When they headed back out into the speakeasy, they saw Coulson and May waiting for them at the other end of the bar; they made eye contact but before Coulson and May had a chance to join them, they were stopped by Wilfred Malick…who began to question Coulson suspiciously.

'Shit, we're made,' Daisy muttered.

'What?'

'Look. It's them.'

Three intimidating-looking men in black had just surrounded Coulson and May at the other end of the bar, looking threatening but…also human.

' _Those_ are Chronicoms?' Daniel murmured incredulously. 'They look…'

'Subtle, I know.'

'So what's our play?' he asked her.

Daisy paused as she tried to think. Her eyes fell on the shy young man sat in the corner of the bar drinking a glass of milk and keeping to himself; Gideon's brother, Nathaniel. Wilfred's son.

'I've got an idea,' Daisy murmured, though she knew Daniel wouldn't like it.

'Go on,' Daniel said warily.

'Those Chronicoms have got Coulson and May, so we need someone close to Malick,' Daisy said, and she pointed at Nathaniel. 'See that guy there? That's his son. The one who should have died three years ago.'

Daniel looked back and forth between Daisy and Nathaniel, and it took a couple of seconds for him to realise what she meant. 'No. Absolutely not,' he said at once, 'we can't do that, he's an innocent kid-'

'I'm not gonna hurt him!' Daisy interrupted, offended that he would think that of her.

'But we can't-'

'Sousa,' Daisy interrupted firmly, 'do you trust me?'

There was a silence as Daniel gazed back into her eyes, and then he spoke the word that he knew to be absolutely and irrevocably true: 'Yes.'

Merely seconds later, Daisy had hoisted Nathaniel up from his seat and dragged him out into his father's view just as the Chronicoms held out their firearms in Coulson and May's direction. Wilfred looked at them in horror.

'Let us go and the kid walks,' Coulson was saying.

'You wouldn't. Nathaniel's got nothing to do with this,' Malick said, and Daisy could see the fear in his eyes.

'He's a ripple,' May pointed out. 'Doesn't belong here.'

'I'd hate to do something we all regret. So what's it gonna be?' Coulson asked Malick challengingly, and Malick glared at him furiously.

'Enough,' one of the Chronicoms ordered, stepping forward. 'This ends now.'

The other two Chronicoms then turned around and aimed their firearms at Daisy and Nathaniel instead. Daisy didn't even flinch at the sound of their weapons whirring as they got ready to fire, but Daniel stepped forward, panicked. The sight of a gun pointed at Daisy's head frightened him more than he could ever have imagined, and he didn't understand why. He barely knew her, after all. He didn't know any of them, really, just as they didn't know him. No one did anymore.

'Stand down, stand down!' Malick snapped at the Chronicoms, and he yanked their arms down.

Exchanging a nod, Coulson and May gestured for Daisy and Daniel to make towards the exit, and they began to head away from the hostile group. Tugging the arm of Daisy's jacket slightly to urge her to hurry, Daniel led their way towards the exit. Daisy dragged Nathaniel along with them, and left him in the doorway.

'Sorry, kid, it's nothing personal,' she said, running a hand through her hair before following the others outside.

Daniel was waiting for her on the steps. 'Hurry!' he urged.

He began struggling up the steps as quickly as he could with his cane, with Daisy alongside him.

'So S.H.I.E.L.D. takes hostages now?! Anything else you're not telling me?' he asked her, aghast.

They'd made it halfway across the road, but before Daisy could answer him they heard the whirring of weapons from behind; Daisy spun around to see that two of the Chronicoms had followed them outside. One of them was already pointing his firearm at Daniel, he'd pressed the button to fire, Daisy's heart lurched –

In the blink of an eye, a wave of vibrations had blasted the two Chronicoms soaring into the air and they smashed into the brick wall, where they then fell and collapsed onto the ground. Daniel stared at Daisy with wide, disbelieving eyes; the wave had originated from her _hand_. He didn't understand. It wasn't possible.

Daisy turned breathlessly to look at Daniel, who looked more shocked than she'd ever seen him – and that was saying something, considering all that had transpired for him in the past few hours. She wasn't meant to use her powers, she knew that, particularly when in the past. It was too much of a risk. But she'd had no choice; Sousa would have been shot and killed.

'I'll explain later, let's go,' she said to him breathlessly, and, utterly confounded, Daniel followed her away from the speakeasy.

The two of them ran down the street to join Coulson and May, who were waiting for them anxiously.

'We've gotta find some wheels and get out of here,' Coulson said, but before they could do anything else the sound of a speeding car approaching from around the corner distracted them.

Daisy grabbed the arm of Daniel's jacket briefly as the car screeched to a halt before them, and Daniel pulled her back slightly, in case it was another weapon-wielding Chronicom. Daisy appreciated his protectiveness but there was no need; the window was already rolled down, and to her utter relief she could see Enoch sat in the drivers' seat.

'Come with me if you want to continue to exist,' he called to them all in a strange, robotic tone.

Overwhelmed, Daniel rolled his eyes; was anyone in this S.H.I.E.L.D. team from the future _normal_? The four of them hurried forwards and scrambled into the car.

'Enoch! You're here!' Daisy said gladly, panting.

'Yes. As I have been for the last forty years,' Enoch said, 'now buckle up.'

Daniel stared at him incredulously. _Forty years?_ How old had he been when he became an agent, ten?!

'Sorry we left you behind,' Coulson said to Enoch from the backseat, 'thanks for the lift…and sweet ride.'

'Thank you,' Enoch replied. 'Consumer Reports gave this vehicle a five-star safety rating, and its fuel economy is best in class.'

Without warning, he then slammed his feet on the accelerator pedal and the car shot off down the road.

Daniel grabbed onto his seat tightly as the car swerved violently around the corner and they sped off.

'Hey, Sousa, you doing okay? Still don't feel like you need to throw up?' Daisy asked amusedly from the backseat.

'It's touch-and-go, I'll keep you posted,' Daniel replied, and as he turned around to glance at her, both their lips twitched.

Enoch was taking them in the direction of the Zephyr, which Daniel was strangely relieved about. Daniel knew he should be stressed about the strange bald man driving them at a ridiculous speed away from HYDRA, or perhaps even Daisy's mysterious superpowers that she'd conveniently forgotten to mention to him before…but instead all he could think about was the feel of Daisy's hand on his chest and his arm around her waist as they'd spoken to Gideon Malick earlier. If he hadn't been in trouble before, he certainly was now.


	5. Nathaniel Malick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episodes 7x05-7x06 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

The team regrouped on the Zephyr, and Daniel tried to listen as they talked about launchpads at somewhere called the Lighthouse to send up the satellites for Project Insight…but it was hard when he felt like he barely knew what was going on. He didn't like not knowing. He was used to being the one in charge and now he was floundering in the dark, the mystified newbie in a group of strangers he couldn't relate to because they were from what seemed to be a completely different world to the one he knew…to the one he'd never be able to return to.

This thought alone made Daniel feel rather dizzy, and then matters were made even worse when the Zephyr began counting down to jump forward without any warning, presumably because the Chronicoms had left 1973 earlier than planned. Daniel was alarmed; Daisy had told him that he had an option to stay if he wanted, but suddenly they only had twenty seconds left in 1973…and Jemma Simmons, the scientist in charge of the time-drive, had no idea why or where they were going.

After the unexpected jump, the team dissolved into chaos as they tried to work out what had happened and what the Chronicoms and Malick had managed to accomplish with Project Insight in the time that had passed. While the team tried not to panic and split up to find out what they could, Daniel caught up with Daisy on the command bridge.

'Agent Johnson-' he began, but Daisy interrupted him wearily.

'Look, I'm sorry, I know you're mad – so are we – but I don't have time to-'

'I'm only asking for one Goddamn minute.'

Daisy paused and sighed. 'Fine…sorry, of course, go ahead.'

'Thanks,' Daniel said, nodding as they walked on together. 'Okay, first things first – is the man who brought us back here another Chronicom? Enoch?'

A hint of a smile flashed briefly on Daisy's lips as she raised her eyebrows at him. 'You catch on fast. Yeah. But he's a good one. Honestly.'

'Okay. F-fine, I'll take your word for it,' Daniel replied, flummoxed. 'Second – where are we? How far did we jump?'

'Three years. We're in 1976 now.'

'Three years?!' Daniel said incredulously, and he sounded angry as he continued to walk after Daisy along the command bridge. 'How the hell did we just jump three more years?'

'I told you, I don't know, we can't control it,' Daisy snapped back, weary of his interrogations.

Daniel came to a halt and frowned at her as she stalked ahead. 'Well who does?!' he demanded.

Daisy came to a halt and turned back around with a sigh. 'Well, Simmons was the one who had time to develop the drive with Fitz-'

'Who's Fitz?!'

'Long story.'

Daniel rolled his eyes. 'Right. Figures.'

'Look, I'm sorry but I've gotta go and work out where '76's S.H.I.E.L.D. is with Project Insight,' Daisy said, trying not to sound too stressed, 'we have no idea what stage they're at or if we're already too late-'

'Go. Go,' Daniel said. 'I need to get some answers off Agent Simmons anyway.'

'Sousa, don't,' Daisy protested, 'she probably won't have them-'

'Then what the hell are you all doing? If you don't know what-'

But Daisy cut over him impatiently. 'I can't right now, Sousa, I'm sorry but I have to go.'

And with that she turned and walked away anxiously to find Mack. She wasn't sure why Sousa's questions and irritation were getting to her. He had every right to want to know what was going on, just as he had every right to be angry about the situation they had landed him in. Perhaps the fact that he was raising some very good points made it harder for Daisy to answer him without seeming like someone in denial of their less-than-ideal predicament.

While Daisy went to reconvene with Mack, Daniel headed downstairs to the medical bay, where he figured Simmons would be. He could feel his temper rising; he had been trying to keep cool and get his bearings, but it was hitting him that he was completely out of his element. Even the doors that somehow miraculously slid open automatically when he stepped through into the medical bay got on his nerves as he stepped forward to confront the scientists of the group, and before he knew what was happening he was interrogating poor Simmons.

It was Deke Shaw who managed to shake Daniel out of his tantrum, and Daniel very quickly felt his anger turn into guilt. He hadn't realised until now that everyone else in this team had had their ordinary lives ripped from them as well, that they had all made sacrifices. It was all just so much to take in…Daniel wondered if he was still in a state of shock. Nothing ever surprised him anymore, as he had seen and done many things in his career; he had seen intrigue and espionage, he had dealt with Isodyne Energy and rifts, he had certainly been through the wringer but _this_? The biggest aircraft in the world that could travel through time? The responsibility of trying to prevent history from being changed? Being technically 'dead' and pulled out of your own timeline? He could barely process it.

When the rest of the team entered the medical bay to debrief everyone, Daisy's face fell slightly as she saw Sousa and Deke staring at each other looking very tense. They'd interrupted what looked like an argument, and Jemma was looking deeply forlorn. Daisy wanted to pull Sousa to the side and confront him about whatever he'd said, but before she could act on the impulse, Mack was already announcing to the team that they had arrived the day before the launch of Project Insight, and their urgent task was to stop it.

The mission was relatively straightforward – or at least, it was compared to everything else Daniel was trying to comprehend – Coulson and May were to go to the Lighthouse and flood the base, forcing evacuation protocol and therefore the shutdown of the launch. Meanwhile Daisy was tasked with hacking into the security system and getting a surveillance feed of inside the Lighthouse, to make sure that there were no prisoners who would get left behind in the base and trapped in the flood. This was the part of the plan that intrigued Daniel the most, though he wasn't sure why.

'I'm going with her,' Daniel said firmly to the team, stepping forward.

Daisy looked round at Daniel in surprise. She was confused, but secretly pleased.

'I'd rather be out there working the problem than in here where we disappear at any moment,' he explained.

He wasn't ready to admit to himself his other reason for accompanying her.

They took the Quinjet to the Lighthouse not long after, and Daniel felt himself relax slightly as he and Daisy parted ways with Coulson and May just outside the base; he hadn't realised how tense his shoulders had been until then.

'Why have you come with me, really?' Daisy asked Daniel, as she led the way to hunt for the security feed panel, which was based outside not too far away from the Lighthouse.

Daniel wasn't sure how to answer that. Truthfully, he was tired of being angry and the only person who seemed to make him feel in any way calm was Daisy. He supposed it made sense; though they didn't have much in common and hadn't known each other long, Daisy was the one he'd spoken to most out of the whole team. Perhaps that made her the person he was closest to right now…after all, all his friends and family from 1955 had been ripped from his life.

'Every agent should have back-up or a partner,' Daniel replied. 'Or do you no longer do that?'

Daisy was surprised by his answer. 'No, it's not that, I just…I guess since Mack became Director, I've just been used to going solo when we all split up,' she said, her brow furrowing slightly.

'Oh,' Daniel said, and after a short silence he added, 'I'm also coming with you because I can't stand being on that plane.'

'Why? Too…futuristic for you? Or do you just feel guilty?' Daisy asked, and when he gave her a questioning look she tilted her head at him sceptically. 'What, you think I didn't notice what was going on with you and Deke when the rest of us came into the room? I saw the look on Simmons' face.'

Daniel looked down, ashamed, as they walked on. 'I gave her a hard time. I snapped.'

'I guess it was gonna happen sooner or later,' Daisy said, keeping an eye out as they snuck around to the back of the base. 'But you didn't have to take it out on her.'

'I know. I owe her an apology,' Daniel said heavily. 'It was unfair of me to treat her that way. I know she's doing the best she can, and it's…it's incredible, what she's done, really. I'm just not a fan of this…uncertainty.'

Daisy nodded sympathetically. 'You get used to it. Come on, it's this way.'

But Daniel didn't _want_ to get used to it, to any of this. It was difficult, to go from being at the top of the agency to being a floundering old-fashioned nobody struggling to be a part of the team and not having a clue what was going on. He wished he could just get back to his original mission and focus on taking down HYDRA, rather than worry about making sure HYDRA were still in place to preserve history – or rather, his future. It felt wrong.

'It should be just around this corner…' Daisy murmured, hoisting the backpack containing her hacking equipment over her shoulder.

She led him around the corner and walked over to a group of panels fixed to the outer wall while Daniel kept glancing behind them, his gun held aloft. She put down the backpack and began getting out her many small machines and gadgets that left Daniel utterly perplexed. He knew she must be incredibly smart to work all those…but then again, he'd known Daisy was smart from their very first meeting in his Area 51 office.

'You do your thing, I got your back,' Daniel said, keeping watch, and a brief smile fell on Daisy's lips as she worked.

It was nice to hear someone say that. It had been a while since Daisy had had a proper partner on a mission.

'Guessing you don't really carry a piece, do you, seeing as you got that super serum powers,' Daniel said dryly, as he kept an eye out to make sure no one came across them.

Daisy almost felt like laughing. _He thinks I'm the next Captain America._

'Yeah, it's not really a…super serum thing,' Daisy murmured, opening one of the panels.

Daniel looked around to see that she was hooking up some cables belonging to what looked like a small computer to the inside of the panel. 'Didn't expect a straight answer out of you,' he said.

Trying to concentrate, Daisy began typing away on her laptop, only to be greeted with an error message. 'Ugh…how is there a firewall already?'

Curious to know what the word 'firewall' meant, Daniel backed over towards her so that he could see what she was doing. 'It seems things just get worse the later in time you go,' he said heavily, standing nearby and leaning against the wall, and he turned to her. 'I think this is my last stop.'

He looked away the moment Daisy glanced up at him; he didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes.

He'd been thinking about it ever since they'd stepped out into 1973, but after everything that had happened today – not to mention jumping forward three more years without warning – Daniel felt sure now about what he wanted. He had liked his life in 1955. He'd been alone, yes, but not _lonely_ , and he'd had a good position in S.H.I.E.L.D., a job that he'd been good at where he could actually be of use. Here, now…he was more a hindrance than anything, and filled with conflict. He knew when he'd woken up this morning on the Zephyr that he'd struggle to adjust – after all, how could he not? – but this was more than just feeling uncomfortable or dazed…this was him coming to the realisation that he didn't want to be part of this team, or travelling through time. He didn't fit in, and he didn't want to, because this team, this world, this life they led…it just wasn't him.

Daisy's eyes lingered on Daniel as he continued to keep a watch out for any passers-by or security agents on patrol around the outside of the Lighthouse.

_He's being serious_ , she realised.

She couldn't blame him. These were new surroundings…he'd barely had time to process his feelings about never being able to go home or see his loved ones again. They'd been on the run non-stop since the moment they'd pulled him out of the timeline and hadn't given him time to stop so that he could process his emotions on what had happened to him. It was all bound to be too much. Perhaps he just needed to get away from it all, and he was right to want to stay here, away from the traumas of life on the Zephyr. Daisy couldn't work out why she was so against the idea.

'It's…okay, this is just a setback,' Daisy said, trying to play it cool as she continued typing away. 'My software will crack it, just needs…a minute to load.'

Daniel frowned at her laptop. 'Maybe you need a bigger computer, that thing's…too small,' he pointed out.

He looked away, shaking his head exasperatedly, but then heard a soft little laugh escape Daisy's mouth. He turned back to her, and was perplexed to see that she looked amused by his comment.

'What?' he asked.

'Uh…'

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her indignantly. 'What?' he repeated, as a smirking Daisy reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. 'What's that?'

'This is a phone,' Daisy said playfully, taking a quick snap of him on her camera. 'But only old people use it for calls.'

She held the screen out to show him; frowning, Daniel leaned forward to see. His jaw almost dropped. On the tiny screen was a sharp, clear photograph of him, standing there against the wall with his gun held out just as he was now, wearing a confused expression that seemed to have become the new norm for him. The photograph was bright and colourful and looked as real as if he were looking through the naked eye. It was absolutely extraordinary.

'How did you do that?' he asked, amazed.

Daisy leaned towards him. 'Check it out,' she said, using her fingers to demonstrate zooming in on the photo.

'Wow,' Daniel said in awe, as he hesitantly tried to copy her finger movements on the phone screen, and Daisy smiled at his reaction; she was loving this. ' _Wow!_ '

Daisy's smile grew. 'Yeah, you look…' – she stopped herself just in time before saying what she really thought about his dashing looks – '…you look okay for a guy who just aged twenty years.'

She stepped away from him and put her phone away, still grinning as she returned to her work on the laptop, while Daniel stood there in a slight daze. He gazed up at her briefly, his heart lurching as he realised what she had just said. He wasn't sure whether it was because she had complimented his appearance or because she'd just hit him with the hard realisation yet again that he was two decades away from his normal life, where everything he knew had moved on and everyone he knew had grown old. Without him.

'Looks like I missed a lot,' Daniel murmured.

Daisy picked up on his sad tone and looked up at him; he was gazing into space, looking at a complete loss. In that moment Daisy had never felt more deeply sorry for him. He'd been thrown straight into a completely different world, filled with change and disaster, and without even having a chance to mourn the loss of his old life.

'I'm sorry,' she said softly. 'This is so…weird and messed up.'

Daniel looked back at her, appreciating her sympathy.

'But the Chronicoms jump, we have to dive in after them,' Daisy went on. 'Without us, it's…it's way worse.'

Daniel nodded, looking almost apologetic. 'I get it,' he said heavily, and he looked down. 'Just…wish I could have said some goodbyes.'

Swallowing, Daniel then turned away to continue keeping a lookout, aware of Daisy's concerned eyes on him. He tried not to think of them…his friends, his family, his co-workers… _Peggy_ …but it was no use.

It had been a number of years since Daniel had last seen Peggy. Perhaps that was for the best. But it still hurt, to know that he wouldn't get chance to bid her farewell for one last time. He thought back to those blissful few days they'd had together before the news of Jack Thompson's murder had reached them and changed everything. They had been so caught up in their little bubble…Daniel had been so amazed that someone as wonderful as Peggy Carter – who had been in love with _Captain America_ , for crying out loud – could ever want to be with someone like him. And then it had all shattered the day Daniel had been shot during his investigation to find Thompson's killer; his near-fatal wound had changed something in Peggy and almost completely emotionally compromised her. Before he knew it they had both parted ways, both tearful and heartbroken but knowing it was for the best so that they could continue doing what they did best and focus on their work.

Daniel had climbed the ranks in S.H.I.E.L.D and gone on to do exemplary work – just as Peggy had done – but in the years that had passed since his time with Peggy, he often wondered if he regretted the choice they had made to break off their relationship, when it hadn't even really begun. Perhaps he should have fought more for her. Or perhaps he'd known deep down that Peggy would always put her work first, and he'd only wanted what was best for her.

Daisy watched Daniel as he stood there, deep in thought. She'd seen that look on people before; she'd even worn that look herself when she'd cast her mind back to her time with Lincoln. She knew little of Daniel's romantic history with Peggy, only that it had been mentioned briefly in one of the files. She wondered if Peggy had been the love of his life…if Peggy had been his Lincoln. She wondered if he had ever been able to let go and move on. She wondered why the thought of that made her sad.

Daisy blinked rapidly as she turned back to her laptop. 'We're in,' she announced, as she sent the surveillance feed through to the Zephyr.

While Daisy continued typing and listening to her team members' communications over the walkie talkie, she glanced hesitantly back up at Daniel.

'Did you mean what you said just now? About this being your last stop?' she asked.

'I-I think so, yeah. Once we're done with Project Insight,' Daniel said heavily. 'I think it's for the best. 1976 isn't _too_ far out from what I'm used to, after all. I'll probably do a lot better here than…well, what year are you all from?'

'Uh…about 2019 or 2020…it's hard to be keep track of how much time passes in the Zephyr,' Daisy replied, her lips twitching slightly.

'2020? Seriously?!' Daniel said, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. 'That's…that's incredible. What's it like?'

Daisy hesitated. 'W-well…you're right in that you'll probably be better off in the seventies, let's just put it that way.'

Daniel smiled weakly.

May's voice then through the walkie talkie while Daisy typed away; 'We're approaching the hangar.'

Daisy grabbed the walkie talkie. 'Copy that, I'm working on unlocking the next check point, just give me a sec,' she said, and she turned to Daniel. 'Hey, could you help open that panel?'

Putting his gun back in his suit pocket, Daniel walked over to the panel on the wall to open it as instructed…but was then distracted by the sound of running footsteps. Both Daniel and Daisy looked up, barely having time to register Gideon Malick's shy brother stood there, holding what looked like one of the Chronicom weapons, before the blast hit them and they both fell to the ground, knocked out, and all went black.

*****

When Daniel awoke, despite his spinning head and blurred eyesight, he knew at once that they were far from the outer grounds of the Lighthouse. It took him a while to come around, and he groaned as he tried to focus on his new surroundings. The first thing he saw was Daisy's unconscious figure; her blazer had been removed and her wrists and ankles had been chained up, but other than that she looked unharmed, just still recovering from whatever drugs they had been hit with.

'Agent Johnson,' Daniel murmured worriedly; he tried to reach her but then realised he too had been chained up.

His suit jacket had also been removed, and his gun with it. He looked around; they seemed to be in an old barn, with rusty wooden panelled walls and dirty straw covering the floor. He wondered if the rest of the team were looking for them, or even knew if they were missing. How much time had passed, he wondered? Had the mission to stop the Project Insight launch gone successfully? He sincerely hoped so.

'Hello? Anyone?' Daniel called out blindly, though his words slurred slightly; he felt almost drunk from the effect of the drugs.

He'd recognised the man who had shot them; surely he must be here somewhere, or else why would he have held them captive?

There came no answer, but he then heard a groan as Daisy began to stir on the floor beside him, and Daniel felt an overwhelming wave of relief.

Daisy's eyelids slowly fluttered open and she groaned more as the exhaustion and nausea hit her.

_What the hell did that man shoot us with?_

She ached everywhere, and there was a sharp pain around her wrists and ankles where she had been chained. She could make out the reassuring sight of Sousa sat beside, without his jacket, looking just as drained as she felt, and also chained up as he leant against the wall.

'Good to see you move,' Daniel said, relieved.

'My head…' Daisy moaned, unable to lift her head up. 'Oh, I can barely…feels like there's cement running through my veins.'

'Drugs,' Daniel explained, watching her in concern. 'Haven't been this messed up since the field hospital.'

Daisy sighed as she struggled to lean her head up off the floor. 'I wanna hea-hear that story when I can remember it…'

She meant it. She found Sousa interesting, and didn't want him to leave the team so soon without him at least relaying some of his fascinating stories from his time during the war and with the SSR and building up S.H.I.E.L.D. in Los Angeles.

Daisy looked around; though the world seemed to be spinning, she could make out that they seemed to be in some sort of old barn. Her blazer had been removed, and the chains fixed to her wrists and ankles clacked against her skin as she tried to move. She reached a hand out and spread out her fingers, grunting and shaking as she tried to release her powers…but nothing happened.

'I can't quake,' Daisy said fearfully, as she looked up at Daniel in horror through bloodshot eyes.

Daniel frowned at her. What did 'quake' mean?

Exhausted, Daisy leaned her head back on the dusty, straw-covered floor. 'Malick's little…psycho-'

But before she could finish the door had opened.

'Psycho?' came a reproachful voice.

Daisy and Daniel looked up. Stood there in the open doorway was Nathaniel Malick himself, flanked by two other men. He looked completely different to the shy young man they had encountered briefly in 1973; he held himself differently, with an air of something that was so much more than arrogance. It made Daniel feel deeply uneasy.

'That's unfair, and very well-timed – wow, right as I'm walking in,' Malick said. 'Hi. Nathaniel? Uh, the two of you took me hostage, changed my life.'

He was smiling. The sight was outright unnerving.

'Yeah, how about you unchain us, and we can hug it out?' Daisy suggested sarcastically, raising her eyebrows at him as she slowly forced herself to sit up. 'And HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. can…be together at last.'

'HYDRA? I-I look like HYDRA to you? Take a look at Ron's suit,' Malick said, pointing at one of his male companions as Daisy slumped against the wall of the barn. 'Guy's here 'cause he's got mouths to feed, not 'cause he worships a space octopus. No. Religion's not really my thing.'

'I don't wanna know what your thing is, kid,' Daniel said wearily.

'But it's you! Daniel,' Malick said enthusiastically, leaning down so that he was on Daniel's eye level as he patted his shoe. 'You're my thing.'

Nostrils flaring, Daniel moved forward with a rattle of his chains to try and hit Malick, but the after-effects of the drugs swept over him again and he fell to the side in his effort to move.

'Woah. Come on. Danny,' Malick said disapprovingly as Daniel collapsed to the floor with a groan. 'You know. I know. Daisy here can move things without touching them, and you? You either fought the Krauts in diapers or you're aging much slower than the other 60-somethings I know.'

Daisy's widened slightly as she realised what Malick was thinking. _Oh, shit._

If she'd been worried for Sousa before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now.

'Yeah, he's not what you think,' she murmured to Malick, barely able to stay awake as she fought against the woozy effects of the drugs. 'He's not-'

'You mean he's not an Inhuman?' Malick asked, getting back up to his feet. 'You'd better hope he is.'

For the first time, Daisy was truly scared. How did Malick know about Inhumans? What was he intending to do with her and Sousa? Sousa had done nothing, he just wanted to be out of this…he just wanted his life back, he'd never wanted to even be here in the first place…he'd only been accompanying her to set up the surveillance feed because he'd needed space from the Zephyr and thought that she needed back-up…

Malick chuckled. 'See, uh, the family business…I dabbled but, um…nothing really spoke to me. Until…I met you,' he said, and Daisy looked at him sharply as she prayed for some sort of miracle that would get the drugs quickly out of her system and bring her and her powers back to full focus. 'Saw what you could do. Woah.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. 'You haven't even seen the half of it,' she said coolly.

Daniel deeply admired her bravery, but had a bad feeling that it wouldn't help. As far as he could see, there was no easy way of getting out of this situation.

'I really hope not,' Malick said, and he chuckled. 'And a cool thing to say, by the way. Your whole vibe is just…great.'

Daniel frowned. 'That's why you took us hostage? To find out-'

'"Hostage" would imply that I'm using you as collateral to get what I want,' Malick interrupted, 'when, in fact, everything I want is right here…flowing through your veins.'

Daisy almost shuddered with fear. _No. He can't mean it, he can't be serious…_

'This isn't the super serum, this is genetics,' Daisy replied.

'Yeah but I'm rich. It, uh…cuts down some barriers. Plus, HYDRA families keep in touch – I mean, Dr. Reinhardt has some very helpful tips,' Malick went on, and Daisy felt herself go cold at the mention of that terrible name. 'What's he always saying? "Discovery requires experimentation".'

Daniel turned to Daisy, unable to process what he was hearing. 'Dr. Reinhardt? Didn't we catch him in the war?'

'Yes, and thank you for your service,' Malick retorted, 'my generation just does not say it enough.'

'You mean Daniel Whitehall,' Daisy said, and she began breathing heavily as Malick turned to look at her. 'I will crush you.'

Malick instantly crouched down in front of her, and Daniel's heart lurched uncomfortably. 'Yes. Do it.'

Daisy held out her hand. Daniel could see her fingers trembling but no waves were coming out. The drugs were still deep in her system, and she was powerless.

'Just one bone shaker and it's over,' Malick encouraged in a shaking voice. 'Show me what makes you so special.'

Daisy tried and tried but nothing happened. She gave up, and her hand slackened against the chains.

Eyes watering, she looked up at Daniel fearfully, almost apologetically. 'I can't…' The words came out in a barely audible whisper.

She was frightened. Never before had there been a more urgent time where she needed her powers.

Malick turned back to the two men. 'We start with her,' he said in a low voice, indicating Daisy.

Daisy's heart sank, and she slumped back against the wall. 'No…' she protested in an unsteady whisper.

She felt nauseous. _This can't be happening. Please, God, no._

But she couldn't do anything, she couldn't even fight back; the drugs still hadn't left her system and her mind was cloudy, the room was a blur…she could see Sousa struggling against his chains to try and help but the drugs were overcoming him as well…

'Please, no…' Daisy whispered, but Malick's two guys had already hoisted her up under her arms; her knees gave way as she tried to force them off her.

Daniel was struggling to kneel up as the panic began to take over. 'No, stop it, let her go,' he protested desperately. 'Please, just let her go, she's done nothing, take me-'

Malick cut over him sharply with a grin. 'Oh you'll be next, don't you worry. But the more you fight, the worse your turn will be,' he said, leering at him as the two men dragged an exhausted Daisy out through the door. 'Don't worry, we'll bring your girlfriend back soon.'

'Stop! No, Daisy!' Daniel shouted, as Malick left the room.

But the door had already slammed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this chapter earlier than planned just because I'm going away for a week so it'll be a bit of a delay until the next update, sorry! Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the lovely feedback :)


	6. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x06 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

She tried to fight but it was no use. Daisy was stripped of some of her clothes and strapped to a cold, sterile metal operating table in a room next-door to where she had been held with Sousa. She could vividly remember the moment just before the procedure started, when Nathaniel Malick hovered over her, masked and aproned, wearing a sadistic smile. And then there were instruments poking into her, draining her, taking what felt like everything she had from her. Daisy could feel herself weakening as Malick and his men did what they did, her worst nightmare of what had happened to her mother finally come to haunt her in the flesh. She came in and out of consciousness in short bursts, and the pain was overwhelming. When she came to, she felt like she was on fire, like a thousand knives were stabbing her. She was screaming at the top of her lungs and yet no sound was coming out of her mouth anymore. It was a strange relief when the world clouded over around her and she slipped off into a state of nothingness – it wasn't sleep, exactly…it was just…empty.

Daniel could do nothing from the next room. He'd found a gap in the panelled wall and tried peering through to see what was happening, but one of Malick's employees was stood there, blocking his view, so all he could do was listen. He kept trying to shout at them to stop through the wall, but whenever he tried that one of Malick's men would come and beat him to the floor while Malick ignored Daniel's pleading protests and continued. The sound of Daisy's moans and protests and cries of pain had stopped a while ago, which frightened Daniel; had she passed out from the drugs, or from the pain? He sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter.

Malick had said earlier that she was 'Inhuman'…and Daisy had said that her powers were genetic…Daniel neither knew nor cared what any of it meant or how it was possible. He just wanted her to be all right, but no matter how hard he tried there was no breaking free of his chains; he was stuck in here, and could do nothing but wait until Malick had finished whatever ghastly tests and procedures he was conducting. Daniel had never felt so utterly helpless.

After a while, Daniel could hear movement from Malick's men. He tried to stand up with his chains to look through the gap in the wall to the next room.

'Okay. Any more and I'll kill the golden goose,' Malick was saying, as one of the suited men picked Daisy up from the table. 'Let her recover.'

Daniel couldn't make Daisy out properly but her head and legs were hanging limp. She was either unconscious or very close. They carried her out, and Daniel heard the chains on Daisy's ankles crackle against the doorframe as they left her room.

'Be careful!' Malick called after his employees. 'You're not bouncing some drunk from the bar!'

Furious, and deeply worried about what he might see, Daniel got back to his sitting position on the floor just in time for when the two suited men came in, escorting Daisy between them. She was stirring, but barely, and her legs were dragging along the floor, her limbs heavy, as they brought her back over to where she had been chained up before, beside Daniel. Her shoes and shirt had been removed, and her white vest top was stained with blood and her wrists were bandaged up. She was limp and her skin was soaked in sweat.

Daniel kneeled up, looking in horror as they dumped Daisy on the floor. There were blood stains on her skin and the back of her top as well. He could feel himself practically shaking with anger. They had tortured her and treated her like an animal for testing.

Enraged, Daniel glared up at Malick as he entered in after them, wearing a surgeon's mask and apron and a smug smile.

'What did you do?' Daniel demanded of Malick, his angry voice dangerously quiet.

'Took as much blood and spinal fluid as I thought she could handle, a couple of glands…' Malick replied casually with a shrug. 'Now I gotta synthesize it all and transfuse it to me. Now, I know – it's risky, but, uh…I want to try new things.'

Daniel turned back to look at Daisy. She was lying on the floor, a barely audible moan escaping her mouth as she flinched with pain, her eyes closed, her head pressed against the straw on the floor. She couldn't move or speak. She couldn't do anything other than lie there and endure the agonising repercussions of the procedure Malick had put her through.

'If it doesn't work, we'll switch from needles to knives,' Malick said, smiling as he and the other two men walked away.

Daniel wanted to hit him or retort back, but he was too weak – and chained up – to succeed in attacking this dangerous man, and there was no amount of words in the dictionary to express just how Daniel felt towards him. Besides, Daisy's need was greater. So Daniel simply ignored Malick as he and his men left the room and, breathing heavily, crawled desperately over to Daisy.

'Daisy,' he murmured anxiously, his chains crackling against the floor as he reached for her, and she tried to speak, her eyes still closed and her body too numb to move.

'Jiaying…it happened…it happened before…' she whispered, gulping as the pain, dizziness and exhaustion threatened to consume her.

'Hey, stay with me,' Daniel said urgently; she looked like she was about to lose consciousness.

Daisy tried to move her cuffed hands but they flopped lazily back onto the floor. She couldn't do anything; she was practically paralysed. Daniel put a hand on the side of her head to steady her, which eased her inner panic somewhat.

'What do you mean this happened before?' he asked her, his face creased with concern.

'Jiaying,' Daisy said, desperate for him to understand, panting as she tried to lift her head, but it was too much. 'Uh…I can't…uh…Jiay-…' But she trailed off, too weak to continue.

Daniel looked at her anxiously, not knowing what to do. He was at a complete loss. He knew a little of what she was feeling right now…the weakened sate, the helplessness, the fear of not being able to do anything, the distress, the trauma, the pain…but he had never been through something quite like what she had just endured. It was unthinkable. It made him feel sick. But his outrage wasn't going to help him or Daisy. All he knew he could do right now, until he was hopefully able to figure out some way of getting them out of this terrible place, was to keep her conscious. If she gave in to her exhaustion while in this state, after what Malick had just done to her, Daniel feared she might never wake up.

'Hey. Hey, hey,' Daniel said urgently, and he slumped down onto the floor right next to her, leaning against the wall. 'You wanted to hear my story, right?'

He moved his leg underneath her to lift her head upright, trying to force her to stay awake, and pressed his hand against the nape of her neck, which was blood-soaked and bandaged up. A slight groan escaped Daisy's mouth when he moved her head to rest on his lap, but his touch was warm and reassuring as she laid her cheek against his thigh, and she was grateful.

'Right, well…it was, uh…foggy,' Daniel began heavily, moving his hand from her hair to check her pulse. 'I can't really remember the hit but…I came to and my leg was…a pulping mess…and…I was completely alone.'

He felt her pulse gently and was alarmed by how weak yet fast it was. But at least it was still there.

'Okay,' he whispered to himself in relief, his panicked heartbeat slowing back to its normal pace as he tried not to let the exhaustion from the drugs wash over him.

He felt more anxious right now than he had done even when being told that he was technically 'dead' and had been stolen away on a time-travelling aircraft from the future. It had been so horrible hearing what had been going on with Daisy in that room. At least here, he could talk to her and hold her, try to comfort her at least. Not that she would be comforted much by someone she barely knew, but still, he had to try.

Daniel sighed heavily, feeling drained himself simply from the drugs that were slowly but surely leaving his system now, and he moved his hand from Daisy's neck and patted her gently on her bare shoulder.

'And then Mike Stephens showed up,' he went on tiredly, knowing that Daisy probably wasn't listening to or processing a word he was saying – but at least the sound of his voice might keep her awake and reassured. 'And the thing about Mike is, he was a resolute…ass.'

He chuckled softly to himself as he softly began to stroke Daisy's hair.

Daisy couldn't open her eyes or speak any words of gratitude; she couldn't do anything at all other than just lie there on Sousa and try to listen. The warmth of his lap and the gentle touch of his hands on her neck and hair almost made her want to cry. She couldn't recall the last time someone had held her, or the last time she had even craved closeness. It was a strange feeling, particularly as she wasn't the type of woman to let someone stroke her hair. But right now she had never been more grateful, and she nuzzled into his lap as she tried to relax at the feel of his fingers running gently through her locks.

'He would never shut up, he was always bullying the new guys…stole cigs… But that day…he just kept talking to me,' Daniel murmured, and he sighed as he continued to stroke Daisy's hair. 'Carried me back from the line.'

He gazed down at her; she had stopped moaning and her head was completely still. In fact, she wasn't moving at all. Beginning to panic again, Daniel patted her head gently.

'Hey, hey. Wake up. Okay?' he said, leaning down on the floor so that he was slumped close behind her, and he patted her back as a barely audible, incoherent mumble left her lips. 'Stay awake, okay?'

He wished he could do something to make her better, to take back what those ghastly men had done. She wasn't in good form, and she seemed to be getting only worse.

Daniel breathed heavily as he lifted his other leg up, forming an almost protective barrier around her feebly stirring figure. 'For the next couple hours, he stayed with me,' he continued. 'When the Germans advanced, when the cold got so bad I thought we would freeze…he just kept telling me, "We are going home".'

Daisy's eyelids fluttered against his leg slightly as she tried hard to focus all her attention away from the pain and onto Daniel's story. But it was so terribly hard, when the heavy black fog around her was so tempting…

Daniel gazed down at Daisy sadly. 'And then at some point I was in a field stretcher and, uh…Mike wasn't.'

He sighed. The memory was still so vivid. Poor Mike Stephens. He realised then that he had never told that story to anyone before. Not even Peggy.

'So…consider my yapping as a way of passing on the favour,' Daniel said, leaning closer to Daisy.

His hands brushed against her back and arm as he sat up slightly and bent over Daisy. He brushed her hair back from her sweaty forehead and leant over her.

'We are going home, Agent Johnson,' Daniel said determinedly, a slight tremor in his voice as he stroked her hair again. 'You hear me? We're going home. But you have got to fight.'

_We're going home._ He said the words so fiercely that Daisy almost believed them.

She swallowed uncomfortably, her breathing heavy. She knew that – if they somehow managed to get out of here alive, like Sousa said – she would never be able to fully express to him just how much she appreciated his comforting presence. She warmed to him for trying his best, for his story and his encouragement, and she loved the feel of him stroking her hair. But she couldn't help feeling despondent. How could they get out of this? They were trapped in God knows where with an experimental psychopath and his surgical tools, and she was completely powerless and too weak to move or speak. Then she remembered the searing pain in the palm of her hand…

Breathing heavily, Daisy slowly moved her arms up towards Daniel. It cost her every bit of effort she had simply just to lift her hands up, but it was worth it; Daniel took them, grasping her hand tightly, and his face fell as he saw the amount of blood in one of them. He gently prised open her fingers, and through the straw and blood he could see a large cut in the palm of her hand…in which something was stuffed inside. Daisy winced and groaned in pain, leaning her face into his thigh as Daniel slowly pulled out the small broken shard of glass that she had found amongst Malick's surgical equipment in the room next-door before the procedure had begun. Moaning, Daisy let her hands fall to the floor as Daniel held out the blood-soaked shard of glass in awe.

Daniel was astonished. _She'd hidden a shard of glass in her hand._

He exhaled deeply. 'Plenty of fight left in ya after all,' he murmured, impressed, as he steadied her head with his gentle hand.

He couldn't believe it. He knew barely anyone who would have the strength to surreptitiously cut open the palm of their hand to hide a piece of glass, while weak and drained from drugs and on the brink of being forced through a torturous experimental procedure. She wasn't just brave and smart and quick-witted, she was fierce.

_She's incredible._

Daisy moaned slightly as she tried to force herself to wake up and speak, but Daniel shushed her and stroked her hair some more, wordlessly telling her that it was okay, that he could handle it. She knew he was right; there was nothing else she could do. Daisy was used to being the one to take the initiative to get out of tough situations. She was the one people turned to; she was powerful, she was smart, she was experienced, she was tough. But here, right now, she'd given all she could. She was passing the baton onto Sousa now, someone she barely knew and yet someone she knew she could trust.

Daniel glanced warily up at the closed door. He would only get one shot at this. Sooner or later, that door was going to open and Malick and his men were going to come in, probably to take Daniel himself to be prodded and poked and drained or – even worse – to take Daisy for more experimentation that would probably end up killing her. But Daniel refused to accept that.

'Hey, Daisy. You still with me?' he said, leaning over her and cupping her cheek.

Daisy moved her head slightly with the slightest hint of a nod. 'Hm-hm.'

'Okay, so we're getting out of here, thanks to you. But to do that I need to move you away so I can have a stab at whoever comes in next. No pun intended,' he added hastily with a grimace.

He felt Daisy exhale with something that sounded almost like what could have been a laugh, if she'd had the strength to make a proper sound.

'I'm not as good of a fighter as you, nowhere near close, but I can try,' Daniel said, and a ghost of a smile flickered momentarily on Daisy's face. 'Then we can get out of here and call the others for help on that phone of yours-'

But Daisy was moaning and frowning. 'No.'

Daniel was confused. 'N-no?'

'I'll…slow you d-down,' Daisy murmured.

It cost her everything she had to force the words out, but she needed to say it, for his own safety. It may be too late for her, but he could still have a chance at escaping and getting that new life he wanted.

'Y-you need to…to get out now…' she whispered, and she forced her cuffed hands up onto his lap; she held onto his knee desperately. 'Find th-the…Zephyr…get help…'

'Not a chance, I'm not leaving you here,' Daniel said at once, brushing her hair back so he could check her pulse again.

'But he'll need me again…my blood…they-'

'No, they won't, because I'm not gonna let that happen. You hear me?' Daniel said firmly, and he gently turned her around so that her back was lying on his lap, her face looking up at his so that he could reassure her with his gaze. 'I promise. They're not taking you anywhere and Malick will never touch you again.'

Daisy couldn't feel much in her current state, but she _did_ feel her heart sore at his words. She had been drained of what felt like almost everything she had within her, but at least Sousa was there. He was a solid foundation, something she could focus on, some goodness she could cling to in the midst of this horrifying nightmare.

'Now don't talk, you're in enough pain as it is, you need to save your strength. I'm gonna move you over there, okay? It'll be safer for you,' he said, moving his arms so that he could guide her. 'You ready? C'mon, here we go.'

He slid across the floor as far as his chains would allow, guiding her with him, and rested her on the floor of the other side of the room, gently laying her head away from his knee and onto the straw. Daisy moaned slightly as the warm, comforting feel of his lap and his gentle hands moved away.

'Okay…I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to let go now but I'm just going to be sat over here, I'm not going anywhere,' Daniel reassured her, moving back to his original spot and keeping a firm eye on her. 'We're gonna get out of here, Daisy. Just hang in there.'

He wished he didn't have to sit away from her, but it was the only way for him to protect her from what would undoubtedly become some sort of fight if his plan of attack were to miraculously work. He clutched the broken shard of glass nervously in his hands while he waited and kept trying to murmur reassurances over to Daisy. She mumbled or breathed heavily occasionally, but eventually slipped into unconsciousness. A lump rose in Daniel's throat as he gazed over at her limp figure. He never could have anticipated how hard it would be for him to leave this woman he'd only recently met in a position like that, not knowing if his plan would work and if she'd die like that, slumped on the floor and alone.

Daniel looked down at his hands and the sleeves of his shirt, stained with Daisy's blood, and he grinded his knuckles angrily. It made him furious to think of how Malick had done this to her, of what he'd put her through. Daniel may not know Daisy well, but he knew that she was a fundamentally good person, a strong, capable agent, and a loyal, caring friend to her team. She had been there for Daniel in his time of conflict and confusion. She was the kind of person who would likely be there for everyone, other than herself. A burning hatred rose within him. Malick was a monster. A monster who deserved truly the worst.

The door then flung open and Daniel looked up warily; it was one of Malick's besuited employees. Daniel was relieved that it was just one of them this time. If it had been two, or all three, he would have had a problem. But this, he should be able to manage.

'Hey, buddy, she's not doing good,' Daniel said worriedly, wanting to at least give this man a chance before he carried out his plan.

The man simply smirked and wordlessly approached Daniel, kicking his leg aside roughly and kneeling down to unlock Daniel's chains.

'You need to get some help,' Daniel said earnestly, getting ready. 'Leave me alone, help her.'

But the man continued to ignore him as he undid the chains on his ankles.

'No?' Daniel said, and as the man got closer to him to unlock the chains on his wrists, Daniel then dove forward and struck him in the chest with the broken shard of glass.

The man yelled out; Daniel stabbed him again and whacked him away with his fists, before yanking his chains and tripping the man up. Daniel forced himself up to his feet and hopped unsteadily over, wishing dearly he still had his cane with him, and knocked the man out with one final punch.

He might have felt bad for stabbing him, but this man had helped Malick experiment on Daisy. He deserved what he got.

Panting heavily, Daniel rummaged around the straw on the floor until he'd found the key for the chains that the man had dropped; he then scrambled over to Daisy, who was stirring slightly after the commotion but still unable to move. He quickly unlocked the handcuffs on his wrists before turning to Daisy's. He knew it would be much quicker and easier to get Daisy out of here with the handcuffs still on, but he couldn't do that. He needed to take them off her.

'Okay. I got you,' Daniel murmured once he'd freed Daisy from her chains, and he hoisted her up gently by her arms with a slight groan. 'Come on…'

He struggled to lift Daisy up in his arms, but by some miracle he somehow managed to successfully get to his feet and hold her without dropping her or toppling to the floor.

'Here we go,' he panted, as he straightened up and Daisy's head rested limply on his shoulder.

But then he heard a low rumble. He looked worriedly around the barn, which had begun to shake, and wondered if it was an earthquake – after all, they couldn't seem to catch a break ever since Area 51, could they? – but then realised that he recognised those vibrations…

He looked at Daisy, his face close to hers. 'Is that you?' he asked warily, but Daisy was too weak to respond.

And then he realised that the rumbling was getting louder…from behind them. Slowly, Daniel turned around, trying to find a good balance on his prosthetic leg, to see Nathaniel Malick stood there in the room, emitting waves that seemed to be shaking the whole building. His arms were outstretched and his hands were shaking violently. His face was contorted with pain and confusion, a trail of blood was trickling down from his mouth, and he looked terrifying.

Breathing heavily, Daniel held Daisy tighter to him as he tried not to stumble backwards at the mere force of the vibrations.

_He can't control it_ , Daniel realised in horror. _The transfusion worked but he can't control it._

'My bones,' Malick said, his voice tremoring with rage, 'are cracking.'

And then the ceiling began to cave in on him. Daniel watched as Malick was struck to the floor and buried under a pile of wooden panels and hay. He hoped it would be enough to stop the threatening shaking of the barn, but the rest of the building only continued to rumble and fall apart. Groaning and wincing as he went, Daniel limped forwards, stepping over Malick's unconscious form, and carried Daisy carefully out of the barn.

They escaped into the sweet relief of outside just in time; Malick managed to bring the whole building down, and the sound of it collapsing behind them seemed to have briefly woken Daisy.

Daisy, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness the whole time, had a dozen questions, but the first thing that came out of her mouth was, 'Y-your leg…'

A weak smile appeared on Daniel's mouth as he struggled on. 'I'm fine,' he replied, touched by her concern as he carried her on. 'C'mon…not far and we can get out of here.'

'But Malick…'

'The barn caved in on him, him and his guys ain't going anywhere,' Daniel reassured her, and he squeezed her tightly to him as he limped forward, struggling to keep her lifted upright in his arms. 'You're safe, Daisy.'

But he knew they weren't out of the woods yet; now they needed to somehow find their way back to the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team before the Zephyr decided to jump forward again. Daisy certainly wouldn't want to be trapped here in 1976, after all.

Daniel couldn't work out where they were; the barn was in a field in the middle of nowhere. He spotted a truck parked up on the empty road, close to the where the barn had collapsed. He guessed it was Malick's truck that he had used to transport them here after shooting them with the Chronicom guns outside the Lighthouse grounds. Wincing as the pain in his prosthetic leg shot through him, Daniel carried Daisy over; he almost fell as he tried to open the door to the truck but luckily avoided it, and helped Daisy inside onto the passenger seat. He moved clumsily over to the front seat to see if he could hot-wire the engine, but was distracted as Daisy slipped from the sitting position he'd left her in and fell against his arm and shoulder.

'Hey, you okay?' he murmured to her, and Daisy mumbled something incoherent in response as he reached a hand out to brush her hair back from her eyes. 'You're gonna be all right, I'll drive us back to…'

But then he trailed off as he noticed that Daisy's peculiarly small telephone device had slipped out of her jeans pocket onto the seat. His lips parted into a hint of a smile as he remembered the photograph she had playfully taken of him earlier today…

' _You look okay for a guy who just aged twenty years.'_

Daniel shook his head sadly. How had that only been a few hours ago? It felt like many days had passed since then. So many things had changed – or, at least, it seemed that way to Daniel anyway. He and Daisy had been forced together in a vulnerable situation and were coming out the other side now a solid team, much closer than the two strangers they had been to each other merely the other day. Perhaps, if Daisy's current predicament wasn't so serious, that fact might have made Daniel conflicted about his thoughts for the future and what he wanted to do next…but right now he had no time for that. He didn't even care about that anymore. All he wanted to do was get Daisy to safety, so she could get the medical attention she so urgently needed.

Struck by inspiration, Daniel picked up her phone and lifted it up to her. 'Daisy…I…can I reach the team on this?' he asked, his hand on her cheek as he tried gently to keep her focussed. 'How does this thing work…?'

'F-fingerprint,' Daisy replied, her voice faint and weary as she struggled to lift her head from his shoulder. 'My finger…'

Daniel took her hand; she was holding out her finger to him, and he guided it to the circular button on the bottom centre of the phone screen. She pressed it but nothing happened.

'It's not working,' Daniel said, frowning worriedly, but then realised the problem. 'The blood.'

He held up her finger and gently wiped away the blood stain from her fingertip, before trying again. To his relief, this time the screen on the phone lit to life.

Her head lolling slightly, Daisy leaned forward to point at the phone screen. 'Press that…it'll send them…a signal,' she said in a barely audible whisper, indicating an icon with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the screen. 'Th-they can track…our location…I can't…Sousa, I-'

But then Daisy's eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto his lap in a dead faint.

'No! No, no, no, Daisy!' Daniel said, panicked, and he hoisted her up from his lap and leant her against his shoulder.

He kept his arm firmly around her as he tried to press the button Daisy had pointed at before losing consciousness. It took him a couple of attempts – he didn't understand how this strange screen worked – but mercifully once he'd pressed it, the phone screen displayed a message saying that a tracking signal had been sent. Daniel sighed in relief; help was coming. He turned back to Daisy and patted the side of her head, trying to wake her up.

'Come on, Daisy,' he said urgently, but she was unresponsive. 'Don't you give up! They're on their way, your friends are coming for us!'

A few minutes passed while they stayed sat in the truck and waited. The whole time Daniel kept checking the phone screen anxiously and tried to wake up Daisy, but nothing seemed to work. It took him a while to realise that his breaths were coming out in panicked gasps; he tried taking a few deep breaths, but it was no use. He kept his arm wrapped around Daisy to stop her from collapsing again on the seat, wondering if she'd still feel him stroking her hair or if she could feel absolutely nothing now. What if he'd been too late or too slow getting them out of there? What if the team back at the Zephyr couldn't reach them in time, or they couldn't save her?

'Wake up. Daisy, please wake up,' Daniel murmured, his voice shaking slightly. 'Just hang in there, you'll make it. Just a little bit longer. They'll be here soon.'

He pressed his fingers to her neck again and his face tore up in concern; he could barely feel a pulse anymore. This woman whom he'd rapidly begun to care about so very much was dying and there was nothing he could do to save her.

'Please,' Daniel whispered, holding her close.

Eyes watering, he then looked up through the front windscreen of the truck as he heard the low hum of a familiar engine. He saw the gust of wind before he saw the aircraft, and an unsteady smile broke out on Daniel's face as he gave Daisy's arm an encouraging squeeze. The moment the Quinjet came to view as it landed on the field across the other side of the road, Daniel exhaled sharply in relief and he scrambled out of the truck, landing painfully on his prosthetic leg and lifting Daisy out in his arms.

They were going home at last.


	7. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episodes 7x06-7x08 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

The journey from the Quinjet to the Zephyr was quick and eerily quiet. The Director, Mack, had a haunting look in his eyes the whole time, and while Daniel held onto Daisy's unconscious figure on the seats, Agent Rodriguez quietly explained to him what had transpired while Daniel and Daisy had been kidnapped and held captive in the barn.

The team's mission to stop the launch of Project Insight had succeeded – after a fashion – but they had been caught in a trap by a pair of Chronicoms disguised as Mack's parents…who had previously been killed. Not only that, Coulson had sacrificed himself by blowing up the Chronicom ship hidden underneath the Lighthouse base…although none of them seemed too distressed about Coulson. That was when Daniel found out that Coulson was in fact a 'Life Model Decoy' based on the real-life Agent Phil Coulson who had died quite a while ago, and that Simmons would be able to have a body rebuilt for him relatively quickly.

Daniel didn't have time to even _try_ and process this strange fact, as he was too preoccupied trying to arouse Daisy from her unconscious state. The moment they docked, Daniel struggled up to his feet, lifted Daisy back up into his arms and headed out onto the Zephyr, leaving a deeply traumatised, grieving Mack in the Quinjet.

'Let me help you-' Rodriguez called after him, concerned.

'No, you need to stay with Mack. It's okay, I've got her,' Daniel reassured her, carrying Daisy's limp figure to the medical bay.

Agents Simmons and Shaw both looked up the moment the doors to the medical bay slid open, and their faces fell in horror as they saw Daniel hobbling in as quickly as his bad leg would allow in his desperation to get Daisy help. Simmons' eyes widened fearfully as she took in the sight of Daisy lying lifelessly in his arms.

'Daisy!' Deke yelped, as he and Simmons rushed over. 'What happened?!'

'Malick. Help her, please,' Daniel said urgently, laying Daisy gently down on the table and limping backwards, panting. 'I can't feel her pulse, she passed out a while ago, she's lost a lot of blood-'

'I'm on it,' Simmons reassured him, immediately gathering her medical equipment to begin her examinations.

'Malick?' Deke said in horror, confused. 'But that's impossible, I killed-'

'Not Wilfred. His son.'

Simmons looked shocked. 'Gideon?'

'Nathaniel,' Daniel replied darkly. 'He took us, he held us somewhere, he…he-'

'What did he do to her?!' Deke asked, outraged.

'He…he took her blood and spinal fluid, I-I don't know how much,' Daniel replied in a shaking voice, 'but he took her powers.'

'What?!' Simmons said, horrified.

'He…after, he could do that thing with his hands, he was making everything shake, he brought the whole place down,' Daniel explained.

'Oh, my God,' Simmons whispered, as she quickly checked Daisy over and Deke hurried off to the Quinjet to check on Mack. 'She's still breathing, but she's not stable. We'll need to get her into the healing chamber, quickly-'

Daniel tried to straighten up at once. 'Let me-'

'Agent Sousa, you can barely stand,' Simmons protested sternly, 'your leg-'

'I can manage, let me help.'

The frantic look in Daniel's eyes and the firm tone of his voice was too much to argue with, so, accepting defeat, Simmons gave a weary nod. Together, they lifted Daisy down from the table and guided her over to the adjoining lab, where a medical bed encased in a glass dome stood.

'So what's this thing?' Daniel asked, panting as he limped on and Simmons tapped a button on the side of the strange glass bed, opening up the case.

'It's a hyperbaric chamber…like a healing pod,' Simmons said, as they hoisted Daisy into the bed. 'It's…well, safe to say it's extremely technologically advanced, even for the early 21st century. It'll help her immensely.'

'So sh-she'll be okay?' Daniel asked, breathing heavily as he lost his footing and stumbled backwards from the chamber.

Simmons nodded. 'Yes. She'll be fine,' she replied, pressing the button again to close the glass encasement around Daisy on the bed. 'I just need to give her some blood transfusions and do a few scans to check how bad the damage is, but if she stays in there for about a day, she should recover quite quickly.'

The relief overcame Daniel; he exhaled shakily and collapsed to the floor as his bad leg gave way. Simmons cried out at once, concerned, but Daniel waved her away airily. He didn't like it when people made a fuss.

But Simmons was having none of it. 'Now you have to let me look at that leg,' she said, eyeing him sternly.

'No,' Daniel said at once. 'See to Dai- Agent Johnson first. I'm fine.'

'But you're hurt, you're covered in blood-'

'It's Daisy's blood. Please. Get her what she needs, do your scans and transfusions and whatever else it is you need to do,' Daniel insisted.

Simmons sighed anxiously and then proceeded to bustle around the room to fetch the rest of her equipment, and she synched up the healing chamber with her tablet so that she could check on Daisy's vitals. She shot Daniel a concerned glance when he put a hand on the nearby stool and tried to rise to his feet.

'Please be careful, you shouldn't be moving,' Simmons warned, frowning worriedly at his prosthetic; giving up, Daniel slumped back down to the floor. 'I have to ask…how did you escape, how did you get Daisy out?'

'I…w-well, I carried her,' Daniel replied.

'But then…where's your cane?' Simmons asked, confused.

'They took it. Malick and his guys.'

Simmons paused for a moment and looked up from her tablet screen to gaze at him. 'You saved her.'

A small smile appeared on Daniel's face as he shook his head. 'No. Daisy saved us,' he corrected her. 'She snuck a shard of glass into the palm of her hand, so we could escape; you'll need to check that, it'll need stitches-'

'I already spotted it, don't worry, the chamber will help lessen the scarring,' Simmons reassured him.

She sighed as she looked at him in disbelief. He'd risked everything to get Daisy away to safety, when he had only met them all just the other day. Jemma had known that Daniel Sousa was a good man – after all, how could he not be, if her heroine Peggy Carter had once fallen in love with him? – but she'd never expected it to feel like he was already part of the team. Perhaps it was destiny that their paths had crossed with his in this way.

'Agent Sousa, I…thank you,' Simmons said sincerely. 'I know you don't know us well at all, and you don't owe us anything so-'

'Actually I owe you all my life,' Daniel said, and he smiled warmly at her, wordlessly seeking for forgiveness for his rude attitude towards her earlier. 'Don't thank me, any other agent would have done the same.'

Simmons smiled. 'Not necessarily.'

Just then, Deke came back into the medical bay, looking deeply forlorn after visiting Mack and Rodriguez in the Quinjet.

'I just checked the countdown – we'll be jumping in just under an hour,' he told them both, and he glanced worriedly at Daisy, lying unconscious in the healing chamber. 'How's she doing?'

'She'll be okay,' Simmons replied comfortingly. 'Actually, Deke, could you help Agent Sousa up into that chair?'

'Sure,' Deke replied, leaning down and offering Daniel a hand.

'Thanks,' Daniel said gratefully, as Deke helped him into the seat; Daniel sank onto it with a sigh.

But Simmons was frowning as she looked at them both. 'Unless…'

'Unless what?' Daniel asked.

'W-well…Daisy did mention to me that you might not want to carry with us on the Zephyr,' Simmons murmured, and Daniel thought that he could detect a hint of sadness in her voice, 'that you…might want to stay here.'

Daniel stared at her wordlessly as he felt his stomach drop. She was right. He'd wanted to leave the Zephyr, to stay away from this mad world of time-travelling and robots, to try and see if he could build a new life for himself…but that had been before the barn.

He knew the clock was ticking. He wanted to make sure that Daisy was all right before leaving this team…but there was no time for that. Daniel needed to decide which path to take _now_ …1976 or the dangerous unknown of the future. His eyes fell on Daisy in the healing chamber.

He realised then that there was no choice to make. He couldn't leave her.

'No,' Daniel said. 'I'm staying.'

Simmons' parted lips smiled ever so slightly as she looked at him in surprise. 'Are you sure?'

'Yeah, I want to stay,' Daniel replied, and he turned back to Daisy. 'Look, is she…are you sure she's all right? Can I help at all?'

'Well…you can tell me everything that happened, from the moment Malick took you both,' Simmons said, almost apologetically. 'Any detail you can remember, anything he might have said or done when they did this to her, I need to know.'

So he did. Over the next half an hour or so while Simmons worked on treating Daisy, Daniel told Simmons as much as he could remember, though he feared the effects of the drugs they had been blasted with made the memory less vivid…although they were no less horrifying to revisit. He told her about everything Malick had said to him and Daisy at the barn, about everything he had heard from the room next-door when Daisy had been dragged in for experimentation, about the way Daisy had been afterwards and how she'd given them their one chance at escape with that sneaky broken shard of glass hidden in the palm of her hand, about the way Malick had lost control of the powers he had transferred to himself from Daisy's blood…Daniel gave an involuntary shudder as he thought back to it.

Simmons looked rather drained by the time Daniel had finished his traumatic story. 'You look exhausted,' she said sympathetically. 'You probably still have some of those drugs in your system, they should have pretty much worn off by now, but I can give you something to-'

'No. Thank you, Agent Simmons, but I'm fine,' Daniel reassured her. 'I'll sleep later.'

Simmons nodded and looked at him curiously; he was gazing at the healing chamber, his brow furrowed in concern.

_He's so worried about her_ , she realised.

She wasn't surprised; after all, she had enough experience to know that being thrown into a vulnerable, distressing situation like the one Sousa and Daisy had been put through today made it almost impossible for them not to have formed a deeper connection with one another.

The minutes passed slowly as Daniel kept Simmons company in silence and sat on the stool, his body aching all over, while he continued to watch Daisy in that mysterious chamber. At one point, Simmons opened up the chamber to wash away the blood stains from Daisy's skin and wrap some bandages around her more severe wounds; Daniel offered to help, but Simmons insisted that he stay sat down to rest his leg. After asking for Rodriguez's help in redressing Daisy into more comfortable clothes (without blood stains) – Daniel left the room at that point – Simmons then briefly hooked up a vitals machine to the chamber, so that she could take some scans and generate a report on Daisy's internal condition on her tablet. The machine beeped steadily and Daniel focussed on the rhythm of Daisy's heartbeat, finding the sound reassuring. He didn't understand what had happened to Daisy, what being 'Inhuman' meant, or what this strange chamber was doing, but at least he understood a good heartbeat.

Once Simmons had moved the machine and other equipment away, Daniel became entranced with the healing chamber; there was a strange whirring noise emitting from it as it worked its magic, and a strange shining light kept moving across the glass encasement, as if scanning Daisy. He had never seen anything like it, nor could he have imagined anything like this existing. It was utterly fascinating. Daniel dreaded to think about what they could have possibly been able to do to help Daisy recover, if they hadn't had this chamber. The vitals reports that were coming in from it didn't seem to worry Simmons, which was reassuring.

Eventually, Daniel heard gentle footsteps approaching from behind him, though he didn't even look up.

'We're about to jump,' Deke's voice murmured.

Simmons nodded at Deke, and then turned anxiously to Daniel. He hadn't taken his eyes off Daisy for the past twenty minutes or so.

'Last chance if you…' she began softly.

Daniel looked at her and shook his head. 'I'm where I need to be,' he replied, before turning his concerned gaze back to Daisy, sleeping in the chamber.

As the time drive began to whir loudly across the aircraft, Jemma walked away from the medical bay, a slight smile on her face as she made a mental note to tell Daisy what he had said at some point once she'd fully recovered. Perhaps it wasn't a mistake or mere chance that had led to them saving Daniel Sousa and pulling him out of time. Perhaps he had always been meant to be here.

Left to watch over Daisy, Daniel held onto the lab counter as the Zephyr jumped forward, and he didn't feel one inch of regret. He was committed now. As Daniel looked at Daisy, with her life on the line, he realised that he hoped she had been right about what she'd said to him in Wilfred Malick's office back in 1973; maybe he wasn't alone. He certainly didn't have to be. Not anymore.

*****

Daisy's eyes blinked open in alarm. Her head was throbbing, but at least every fibre and nerve in her body had stopped screaming since she'd last been conscious. The bright fluorescent lights above her were almost blinding; she squinted as she heard the press of a button and the whirring as the glass dome above her began to open and suddenly she could see warm brown eyes gazing at her.

She sat upright at once, panting as if woken from a nightmare.

'Whoa, easy, easy,' Daniel said gently, steadying Daisy as she got her breathing under control. 'It's all right, you're safe. We're home.'

_Home_. It came as a shock to Daniel to hear him say that word about this strange aircraft from the future and mean it, yet it felt like it could be true somehow. While Simmons had been trying to sort out a problem that had started occurring with the time drive, Daniel had stayed here to keep an eye on Daisy for the past hour or so while she'd slept and the healing chamber had done its job. It was nice to see her awake. Merely hours ago he had strongly feared that he would never see those captivating eyes or those entertaining expressions on her face again.

Daisy looked around their surroundings anxiously. There was no straw, no wooden panels. No Malick. Just the Zephyr, and Sousa perched on the side of the healing chamber where she lay, holding her arm, a reassuring expression on his face. His shirt looked dirty and blood-stained, and he looked almost as tired as she felt. But he looked unhurt. The sight filled Daisy with relief.

'Are you okay?' she asked breathlessly, her voice faint.

A smile of disbelief flickered on Daniel's face as he raised his eyebrows at her and let go of her arm. 'Am _I_ okay?'

'They didn't…he didn't…' She trailed off; she couldn't bear the thought.

Daisy felt almost embarrassed. It was her job to protect everyone in the team, and with Sousa being practically a guest who had just tagged along to be her back-up, she had failed him in that barn. Or so she'd thought, at least.

'No, he didn't touch me. Didn't get a chance thanks to you and your nifty trick with that shard of glass,' Daniel said fondly. 'Oh, and we jumped again by the way.'

There was a pause as Daisy stared at him. 'Y-you stayed?'

'What d'you mean?' Daniel asked, frowning.

'You said you wanted to stop off. In '76,' she reminded him in a weak voice, looking perplexed.

'Oh yeah, well…I changed my mind,' Daniel replied softly.

Daisy's lips parted ever so slightly as she looked at him. He averted his eyes for a moment, as if a little nervous, before meeting her gaze. A small hint of a smile appeared on both their faces briefly.

Eventually Daniel cleared his throat. 'So, how are you feeling?' he asked.

'Uh…I'm not gonna lie, I've been better,' Daisy replied tiredly, surprised by her own honesty, as she groaned and scratched her head.

She looked down and saw that her ripped, blood-stained seventies' clothes had been removed and she'd been re-dressed into her comfiest outfit; a simple black T-shirt, black jeans and her favourite boots. She guessed – and hoped – that it had been Jemma, rather than Sousa, who had seen to that.

'How long have I been out?' Daisy asked.

Daniel grimaced. 'Uh…a couple of hours, maybe more? I'm not sure, to be honest, I seem to have lost track of time.'

'Nice,' Daisy muttered with a smirk, and Daniel's eyes widened, mortified, as he realised what he'd just said.

'That wasn't meant to be a…'

'No, don't worry, I like Dad jokes,' Daisy reassured him, amused.

Daniel frowned, bemused. 'Dad jokes?'

'Never mind.'

It was nice to see her smile. Even though she looked beaten and bruised, washed-out and exhausted…the fact that she could still smile after all she'd endured today was surely something to celebrate.

'You need to take it easy. Agent Simmons said about a day in this thing should help speed up your recovery,' Daniel said.

'I'm sure it won't take that long, I'm feeling fine, really,' Daisy said airily, but she didn't fool Daniel; she ignored him when he raised his eyebrows sceptically at her and tried to change the subject. 'What happened anyway? Did we stop the launch?'

'Err…yes,' Daniel replied, though he looked a little awkward.

'Where is everyone?'

'Uh…'

She leaned towards him urgently. 'Sousa?'

'They're out looking for Mack and Deke,' Daniel replied heavily, and Daisy's eyes widened in confusion. 'The time drive was damaged…I don't really understand it, but…we've jumped twice since we got back here, without warning.'

'Is it the Chronicoms?'

'No, the Chronicoms are gone. The Zephyr got hit after shooting down the Project Insight launch, apparently it's done something to the time drive – don't ask, this happened when we were shacked up with Malick,' Daniel explained wearily. 'And…Mack and Deke got stuck in 1982.'

Daisy's eyebrows shot up her forehead. 'What? How?!'

'Mack needed to take some space…the Chronicoms killed his parents, they took their faces.'

'Oh, God,' Daisy murmured, horrified at the thought. 'Mack…'

'Deke went after him but…they got stuck there when we jumped,' Daniel replied heavily.

'And…when are we now?' Daisy asked, dreading the answer.

'May. 1983.'

'They've been there for over a year?!' Daisy said loudly, and she tried budging him off the chamber bed so she could get out. 'We need to help the others look-'

'No, it's Simmons' orders – you need to stay here in the chamber,' Daniel said firmly, getting to his feet and blocking her way.

Daisy tilted her head as she looked up at him irritably. 'And what are you doing, guarding me?' she asked, her lips twitching ever so slightly.

Daniel simply smiled and nodded in confirmation. 'Again, Simmons' orders.'

'But we can't just sit here and do nothing!' Daisy protested, though her voice sounded weaker with every word she spoke. 'We need to go out there and find them and bring them back before the time drive freaks out again.'

'I think we've already run out of time for that,' Daniel said apologetically. 'The countdown already started around fifteen minutes ago, we're about to jump again.'

'But that…we can't let that happen…' Daisy said, shaking her head as she tried to scramble out of the chamber, but the pain when she moved was too much. 'I-I need to go upstairs and find out what's going on-'

'Daisy, you need to lie down and trust me,' Daniel insisted, putting a hand on her shoulder. 'You're not well. You need to take care of yourself.'

'There are more important things than that,' Daisy said dismissively, making Daniel frown. 'Mack and Deke are out there and- look, just get Coulson, he'll back me up on this.'

At this, Daniel's face fell.

'What? _What_?' Daisy asked him urgently; his expression scared her.

'You know I said the Chronicoms were gone? Well…Agent Coulson blew them up,' Daniel explained, sighing deeply.

Daisy felt like she might faint or throw up, or possibly both. 'Wh-what?' she whispered in disbelief, her heart sinking.

'I'm so sorry. But…I heard the others saying they could create another, uh, L.M.D. for him quickly…once they recover his drive…' Daniel replied, hoping these words he barely understood were at least some comfort to her. 'I'm not sure…'

'Oh. So you know he's a robot. Sort of – well, not really. An L.M.D.,' Daisy said, her eyes darting to the side awkwardly.

'Y-yes,' Daniel replied, raising his eyebrows at her. 'Fun little fact.'

'He's just as real as the old Coulson though,' Daisy said; for some reason, it was deeply important to her that Sousa understood this. 'Normally I'd say that I wish you'd known him, but…the thing is, you already do. L.M.D.'s aren't that different from us.'

Daniel nodded. Daisy noticed that a lump had risen in his throat. Information overload for today, perhaps.

'Sorry…it's a lot, I know. It's not normal in our time period, either, if that's any comfort,' she said, and Daniel smiled weakly. 'So…Simmons can get a new body made for him? He's not gone.'

'That's…how I understood it. Though I understand very little…nowadays,' Daniel admitted, and a weak chuckle escaped Daisy's mouth, though it hurt to laugh.

There was then a sudden jolt. Daniel held onto the chamber and steadied Daisy as the aircraft shook for a couple of seconds before resuming normal flight. Daniel and Daisy glanced at each other uneasily; they'd jumped again.

'That's it, I'm getting out,' Daisy said firmly, swinging her legs around so she could get down from the chamber bed.

'But-'

'I'm okay, Sousa,' she insisted, fixing him with a sharp look, and Daniel knew then that there was no arguing with her. 'Please, just…' She trailed off; she didn't like asking for help.

Daniel understood; giving in, he leant towards her and shifted his weight to support hers as he helped her out of the chamber.

'Only for a couple of minutes, okay?' he said, and Daisy rolled her eyes. 'You can't walk far.'

He kept his arm around her waist as he helped her stand upright on the floor; she closed her eyes and winced slightly as the pain shot through her stomach, ribs and arms where Malick had taken blood from her.

'You good?' Daniel asked, concerned.

'Uh…yeah.'

Daniel hesitated awkwardly as he stood there, not sure whether to remove his arm from her waist and step away. 'Sorry, you want me to let go, can you manage?'

'Uh…'

_No, I don't want you to let me go_ , Daisy realised.

She got a vivid flash then of his fingers gently stroking her hair as she'd rested her head in his lap – had that happened, or had she dreamed it?

Daisy looked up at Daniel as she felt his hand linger on her waist; he looked back and his lips parted but before either of them could say anything the doors to the lab had slid open and Jemma came in from the medical bay, looking distracted and panicked. Daniel let go of Daisy at once but Jemma barely noticed; she was too busy staring in outrage at Daisy stood there, looking weak and pale.

'Wh-what are you doing? Daisy, why are you out of the chamber?' Jemma demanded, and she flashed Daniel a disapproving look; he grimaced at her apologetically.

Daisy stared at her incredulously. 'Sousa told me Mack and Deke are missing, I-I can't just lie in there feeling sorry for myself when-'

'You're in recovery!' Jemma cut over sharply. 'Your body was put through something unthinkable, it needs time to heal-'

'It doesn't matter, I'll feel better soon,' Daisy insisted, her voice faint, 'what matters is-'

'No, Simmons is right,' Daniel interrupted, 'you haven't been in that bed long enough, it's only been a few hours.'

Daisy sighed exasperatedly. 'Look, I appreciate both your concern but I don't need an army of nurses-'

'Daisy, you almost died!'

Daisy fell silent. Jemma very rarely gave away her emotions now, not since the Zephyr had started travelling through time and she had been separated from Fitz, but her voice trembled when she spoke those words. Daisy glanced at Daniel, and she realised then from the look on his face that her condition had been much worse than she'd previously thought.

' _Please_ just to listen to us. You need to look after yourself,' Jemma said earnestly, and Daniel couldn't help noticing how stunned and confused Daisy looked, as if she was unfamiliar with such a concept.

'F-fine…' Daisy said eventually, defeated. 'But…can I at least grab a shower?'

Jemma sighed. 'Very well, if it'll make you feel better. I'll do another round of tests while you're up as well, just to check how things are progressing.'

'Thanks. How far did we jump this time?'

'We're four months ahead,' Jemma replied.

'What's causing these jumps?' Daniel asked. 'I mean…this shouldn't be happening, right?'

'No. It's a spontaneous power surge, I think – the time drive was damaged in the missile strike,' Jemma explained.

Daisy's eyes widened. 'You guys got hit by missiles?!'

'Yes. But we survived, so…that's something,' Jemma replied matter-of-factly.

'And…what's the plan now then? We can't just…keep jumping and abandon Mack and Deke,' Daisy pointed out worriedly.

'I know…and that's why May and Yo-Yo are going after them in the Quinjet,' Jemma said.

Daisy frowned, concerned. 'But…will there be enough time for them to do that? If the jumps keep happening every half an hour or whatever then they'll just get trapped in the eighties too.'

'I've worked out the pattern to the jumps. They have just under twenty minutes to prepare now, then once they've set off, I've given them around a month – from their end, at least – until they'll need to rendezvous with the Zephyr…hopefully with Mack and Deke. That's the plan, anyway. The maths is solid, trust me,' Jemma reassured them.

'I do, I just…I should go with May and Yo-Yo,' Daisy said, 'it'll take less time to find-'

'Absolutely not, you're staying right here,' Jemma interrupted.

Daisy sighed in defeat. 'I just feel so helpless.'

'You went through hell, Daisy,' Jemma said, 'you're allowed to take time out to recover.'

'I agree,' Daniel said firmly, fixing Daisy with a stern gaze that told her not to argue, and he turned back to Jemma. 'Is there anything I can do?'

'You can let me take a look at that leg and then show you to your bunk so you can get settled,' Jemma said, giving him an almost motherly look. 'Enoch and I found some toiletries and clothes for you that should fit…you can have a wash, get changed, get some rest…you need to take some time out too, you know.'

Daniel glanced at Daisy.

She smiled tentatively. 'Sorry I got blood on your shirt.'

Daniel smiled sadly back at her. 'Don't be. You sure you're okay?' he asked.

'I'm okay. Go. Get yourself sorted,' Daisy said, though the reassuring smile she'd fixed on her face faded the moment Daniel had reluctantly followed Jemma out of the medical bay, limping quite significantly as he went.

While May and Rodriguez dashed around packing their things in preparation for their one-month search for Mack and Deke, Simmons led Daniel around the bunks and small bathrooms upstairs. She gave his prosthetic a quick check-over but really the damage was just muscle pain from straining it when he'd carried Daisy out of the barn. Daniel knew it had been worth it though.

It was a relief for him to see a bed, and Simmons had kindly left a pile of a select few modern-day outfits and toiletries for him to keep. He wasn't sure why, but the sight of these new belongings and this bunk was what hit Daniel the most with the fact that he had made the definitive decision stay here. He had decided to join this team from the future, on a flying time-travelling aircraft, in a fight against body-snatching robots from another planet who wanted to take over the world. And, bizarrely, he felt _good_ about it.

Leaving Daniel to figure out the strange mechanics of the modern shower, Jemma headed back to the medical bay. Daisy had already had a quick wash and redressed; the effort and pain it had cost her to do those simple menial tasks without anyone there to help distressed her, but she tried hard to hide it. She knew she couldn't fool Jemma though.

'How is he?' Daisy asked at once when Jemma entered the room, trying to distract herself from the physical pain shooting through her body.

'Sousa? He…I think he's still a little overwhelmed. But mostly he's just tired,' Jemma replied, and she watched Daisy carefully. 'He's been very stressed since he brought you back here.'

Daisy's lips parted. 'I…'

'What is it?'

'Nothing, I just…' Daisy trailed off, casting her mind back to today…

The images of what had happened kept sweeping in and out of her mind like waves, but there was one thing that remained constant, aside from the looming shadow of Malick's face, and that was Sousa. He had been there for her in a way that no one else had for a very long time, supporting her with his gentle touch and words of comfort simply just to try and keep her awake. She wondered what she'd done to deserve a new team member who could be so compassionate towards someone he barely knew.

'Daisy, are you okay?' Jemma asked softly, but then she sighed and closed her eyes; what a stupid question. 'It must have been horrible, I'm so sorry.'

'Don't be, I'm okay. Really. I wasn't alone,' Daisy murmured. 'It…S-Sousa…it really helped him being there…after Malick…'

She sounded almost on the verge of tears as she thought back to that horrific barn, but she refused to let this strange alarming surge of emotion surface, so she blinked rapidly and shook her head as if to shake the feeling away, embarrassed.

Jemma smiled in understanding. 'He's a good man. And very nice. The rare kind of nice. I think everyone here's in agreement that he's a very welcome addition to the team,' she said gently, and she put a comforting hand on Daisy's shoulder. 'Come on, let's get these scans done with and then you can get back into the chamber and rest.'

'Woo, I can't wait,' Daisy muttered dryly.

Jemma checked over Daisy's wounds and conducted the tests and scans as quickly as possible. Daisy couldn't help noticing how anxious Jemma looked as she checked the report on the tablet afterwards.

'Are you okay? Is it bad?' Daisy asked warily.

'N-no, sorry, no, you're fine. It's just it's nearly time for May and Yo-Yo to set off before we jump again,' Jemma explained. 'I just hope they're ready.'

'They'll be fine, I'm sure.'

Jemma nodded bracingly as she put her tablet away. 'Well…you're on the mend, but you won't get better overnight. You need to rest for a couple of days,' she said firmly. 'A few more hours in the chamber would be good-'

Daisy sighed. 'I just…I don't want to go back in there,' she said, glancing back at the healing chamber waiting for her.

She didn't want to lie down on any sort of table or bed for quite some time. She was haunted by the memory of Nathaniel Malick's face leering at her as he'd brandished his needles and medical tools. She was scared of waking up and seeing those wooden panelled floors or straw-covered floor.

'How did Sousa and I actually get out of there? That barn, with Malick. What happened?' Daisy asked, and Jemma tilted her head at her.

'You don't remember?'

'I mean, yes…but it keeps…coming and going. Like a dream,' Daisy replied. 'I wasn't really…with it.'

Jemma smiled sadly. 'Malick took your powers…but…he couldn't control them, and the building you were being held in collapsed, he brought it down…'

'Then how…-?'

Jemma smiled. 'Sousa carried you out.'

Daisy stared at her in disbelief; at first, she'd thought that had been the case, but then she'd realised that there was no way a man who had been drugged with only one working leg could have managed to get her out of there. She'd just assumed it had been something she'd dreamed up while in the healing chamber.

'But his leg, they-they took his cane, how the hell-?'

'I know,' Jemma said wearily. 'He refused to let me look at it until we'd got you settled in the chamber. But he seems fine, I've given him something for the pain.'

Just then the doors slid open and in limped Daniel himself, looking completely different. He had showered, so the dried sweat and blood stains were gone, and he was wearing smart black trousers and a button-down blue shirt with an open collar and rolled-up sleeves. It had a flattering fit to his chest.

Daisy swallowed as she gazed at him. 'Y-you changed your clothes,' she noted.

'Uh…yeah. I thought it was time,' Daniel replied, feeling rather self-conscious all of a sudden as he approached, leaning his hand against the wall to balance his weight. 'And also…my suit needs a wash.'

Daisy smiled sympathetically, and her eyes ran him up and down. 'Well…you look good,' she said, and Jemma's lips twitched ever so slightly for a second.

He looked far better than 'good' in that blue shirt, but to say so aloud would make Daisy blush and Daisy _never_ blushed.

'Thanks,' Daniel replied, and he looked at her awkwardly. 'You look…better.'

Daisy smiled amusedly. 'I've seen myself in the mirror, I look like a friggin' zombie,' she said, 'but thanks.'

Jemma looked back and forth between them, almost awkwardly, with wide, bemused eyes. 'Err…I'm going to have to go, I need to give the timings to May before she and Yo-Yo leave,' she said, putting away her equipment. 'Daisy, you-'

'I know, I…' Daisy glanced at the chamber fearfully again.

'I can give you a sedative, if you'd like?' Jemma offered. 'I think it'll help, and you'll go to sleep the moment you go back in there.'

Daisy hesitated; she didn't like the thought of more drugs in her system after today, but she trusted Jemma, and it was probably the only way to relax her enough so that she could get the sleep she needed.

'Okay. Yes, please,' she said reluctantly.

Daisy sat down on the side of the open healing chamber and Jemma approached with a needle. Daisy winced the moment she saw it; suddenly all she could see was Malick.

Daniel was there in an instant, as if he could read her mind. 'Hey, don't look at it, just look at me,' he said softly, fixing her with his gaze.

She did so, and without thinking reached out and took his hand. She squeezed it as the needle went into her arm, and he squeezed hers gently back before she let go, relieved that it was over.

Jemma leaned away. 'There you go, that should help. Anyway, I'm sorry but I really need to go-'

'Go, go. I'm fine,' Daisy assured her. 'And Jemma? Thank you.'

Jemma smiled and nodded. She caught Daniel's eye, and in that one look she knew that she could count on him to make sure Daisy got into the chamber, so left to join May and Yo-Yo upstairs. Once she'd left, Daniel turned back to Daisy, whose eyes were already drooping.

'Are you all right?' he asked.

'Feeling a little woozy,' she replied.

'That's good, that's the sedative. You'll be feeling much better when you wake up,' he said gently.

'What about you? How are _you_ feeling?' Daisy asked, frowning.

Daniel smiled. 'I'm feeling that you should stop worrying about everyone else for once and focus on getting yourself better.'

'Okay. Fine. You win,' Daisy said with a smirk, her words slurring.

Chuckling slightly, Daniel reached out and helped lie her back down on the bed in the chamber. Daisy sighed in content as he brushed one of her front wavy locks out of her face before leaning away and pressing the button on the side of the healing chamber. By the time the glass encasement had sealed her in the chamber, she was in a deep sleep. Daniel watched her for a moment, a slight smile on his face, before limping away to find Simmons; he could tell she'd been worried about May and Rodriguez's mission.

However, Daniel didn't need to be concerned about the rest of the team; he had only been with Simmons for a few seconds after May and Rodriguez had departed when the Zephyr jumped forward in time again and the Quinjet reappeared as quickly as it had left, just as Simmons had impressively predicted. Daniel was surprised by the relief that flooded through him as Mack, Deke, May and Rodriguez all stepped out onto the Zephyr. The team were safe and here. They were back together.

And that was when Daniel realised.

_This is my home now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you've been enjoying so far! Strange to think that this is the last chapter I'll be posting before the finale...this time tomorrow we'll know exactly what happens! I'm praying for a Daisysous endgame but if the writers mess it up and end it tragically with one of them dying/being separated in a different time period or whatever, I'll fix it and write the ending differently! Fingers crossed I won't need to!


	8. Countdown to Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x08 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

While Jemma left to start the machine in creating a new L.M.D. body for Coulson, whose memory drive Deke had managed to recover while trapped in the early eighties, Daniel headed back downstairs to the medical bay to check on Daisy. She looked peaceful and untroubled in sleep, and Daniel couldn't believe how quickly the healing chamber seemed to be working; there was slightly more colour to her skin now, and even with her lying down he could tell she was stronger than she had been merely twenty minutes ago. Smiling briefly and giving the chamber a gentle pat, Daniel then made his way upstairs, trying not to wince and stumble as his prosthetic played up; he was _really_ missing his cane.

Once Mack and Deke had had time to readjust to being back on the Zephyr, the team – those who weren't sleeping or still in the process of being built, anyway – soon regrouped on the command bridge to assess the precarious situation of the aircraft. Simmons led the debrief, and it wasn't good news, which hardly surprised Daniel after the way things had been going ever since he'd been brought along for this ride. They had lost control of the time drive; it was malfunctioning at a colossal rate, and the Zephyr was on the brink of collapsing into a space-time singularity – whatever the hell _that_ meant – in approximately twenty minutes. The jumps, and the time they spent in any given time period, were getting exponentially shorter. This would eventually lead to a jump within a jump, the results of which would be catastrophic.

Daniel was completely nonplussed. Nothing Simmons was saying about this disastrous predicament seemed to be in any way reassuring or solvable, but Daniel was trying his best to keep up his calm façade.

_Just another day at S.H.I.E.L.D._

He wondered why he kept trying to tell himself that, as if it was something that should reassure him, when these past few days felt like they had aged him twenty years from the stress.

Simmons and Deke revealed that a potential solution would be to disconnect something called the fuel cell regulator, which was attached to the time drive, but they couldn't reach it because the field was cycling at a rate of 49 pulses per second. If they found something – or some _one_ – fast enough to go between the pulses, it could work…

That was when Daniel found out about Rodriguez' powers – apparently Daisy wasn't the only Inhuman around here (though he still had yet to learn what the term 'Inhuman' actually meant). However, Rodriguez' ability to run extremely fast had stopped working after an altercation with something called 'Shrike' a while ago, and the team couldn't fathom why. The situation was desperate; Rodriguez – or 'Yo-Yo', as they all liked to call her – may be their last hope.

'Simmons, do you have any other theories as to what happened to Yo-Yo?' May was saying.

Simmons sighed helplessly. 'I wish I did, but I just don't know enough about Inhuman biology to-'

'My mom does.'

They all turned around to the command bridge entrance, and Daniel's face lit up slightly with a mixture of both happiness and concern. It was Daisy, looking better now that she could stand upright without any help but still rather pale, weak and like she needed a good twelve hours' sleep at least.

'Daisy,' Daniel said, 'you should be resting.'

A few of the others looked at him, curious; since when did Sousa call her 'Daisy'?

'I'm okay,' Daisy reassured him, as she walked slowly into the command bridge. '1983, right? Jiaying is at Afterlife. If anyone knows how to cure Inhuman powers, it's her.'

_Jiaying_. Daniel had heard her mention that name before, back in the barn, right after she'd been brought back from Malick's surgical table. What did she mean by 'Afterlife' though?

'Can we get there in time?' Yo-Yo asked Jemma.

'Well you could make it…if you leave before the next jump,' Jemma replied, checking the screens.

Mack asked May to prepare the Quinjet for the trip, as she was the best person to accompany Yo-Yo, having been to Afterlife before. While May asked Jemma to work out the coordinates and countdown, Mack approached Daisy.

'I don't have to list the implications for you,' he said darkly. 'So let's talk this through before we pull the trigger.'

Daisy nodded; she could feel Daniel's concerned gaze on her, and her eyes met his briefly.

'We need Coulson's advice on this,' Mack went on, and with that he led Daisy and Simmons away to consult with Coulson's half-developed new L.M.D.

Daniel watched them go anxiously, wondering what that had all been about, before turning to Deke and Enoch to ask how he could help in preparing their back-up plans for halting the time-drive.

It was only a few minutes later when Mack and Daisy re-emerged on the command bridge; while Mack headed over to May and Yo-Yo to give them the go-ahead for the mission to Afterlife, Daisy found herself drawn towards Daniel. He looked up from the strange device he'd been trying to help Deke with, and went up to her at once, looking anxious.

'Hey,' she murmured.

'Hey. What did Agent Mack mean? About 'the implications'?' Daniel asked, and Daisy sighed, wishing he hadn't picked up on that.

'It could disturb the timeline. My mom is there, where they're going and…I haven't been born yet,' Daisy said heavily.

Daniel swallowed nervously as he frowned at her. He was still new to this time-travel malarkey and would never pretend to understand the rules of how space-time worked, but basic logic told him that interfering directly with Daisy's personal timeline before her birth seemed like a very bad plan indeed.

'Is it the only way?' he asked.

Daisy was touched; he seemed genuinely worried. 'I think so, yeah. It's risky but…I trust May and Yo-Yo,' she replied, trying to sound more casual and unconcerned about her proposed plan than she really felt deep down. 'Even if something goes wrong, hopefully it won't mess up things that bad-'

'By 'things', you mean…you existing?' Daniel said, his voice cracking slightly on the last word.

Daisy hesitated. 'Y-yeah.'

Daniel stared at her in amazement; she was the most perplexing woman he'd ever met. 'How are you so…calm about this?' he asked, incredulous.

'Huh, look how the tables have turned now,' Daisy said, smirking slightly.

Daniel gazed at her wordlessly for a moment, then a soft chuckle escaped his mouth. He knew she was trying to lighten the mood, to disguise her own concern and try to reassure him. He wished he could let her know that she didn't have to put on that kind of façade. Not in front of him.

'I have faith in my team. And I've been in much worse spots before,' Daisy said airily, and Daniel's eyebrows shot up his forehead; he dreaded to think what she had been through before. 'It'll be fine.'

'What would…what would happen to you?' Daniel asked, his voice quiet and almost fearful. 'If…if something were to go wrong with your mother, not that it will, but…'

'I…I don't know,' Daisy realised, frowning, and Daniel's eyes widened. 'Maybe I'd just…fade…or vanish? But no, that didn't happen with Deke when we broke that loop so-'

'Hold up, _what_?!' Daniel interrupted, confused.

'Oh, yeah…' Daisy said, grimacing awkwardly, and she sighed. 'Look, when we get chance to have a…a proper break from all this, I'll tell you all about…well, everything.'

'Including this, uh, Afterlife?'

'Yeah. Everything. I promise,' Daisy said, and she meant it; for some reason, she wanted him to know their whole story. 'Listen, uh…I need to go stay with Coulson, I…I think I need to sit down and he…well, he needs company right now. Think he's going through a rough time.'

'Can't really blame him. I'll keep…trying to help out these guys, though…I don't really understand what we're doing,' Daniel said, indicating the machines and control panels around them, and Daisy smiled. 'Think we've only got just under fifteen minutes left until…'

'Until total disaster,' Daisy finished for him calmly.

Daniel nodded. 'Pretty much, yeah.'

'Just a typical day,' Daisy said, and they exchanged a half-sad half-amused smile.

'I'll see you in a bit,' Daniel murmured.

Without thinking he touched her arm briefly before walking away. Daisy's heart skipped a beat at his touch, to her utter confusion, but she managed to recover her dazed expression just in time as Daniel then turned back around to face her.

'Hey. Don't go…fading away or anything while I'm gone, you got that?' Daniel said, an almost playful glint in his eyes.

Daisy smiled, making her face ache somewhat; she'd been smiling a hell of a lot more than normal since Sousa had come onboard. 'I'll try my best,' she replied.

He turned away and headed back to join Deke and Enoch; a fond smile fell on Daisy's lips as she watched him go. Her hand rested briefly on the spot on her arm where Daniel had touched it, before she blinked rapidly, mortified with herself, and turned away. She then walked slowly back to the L.M.D. lab, where Coulson's recently-rebooted body was still being developed, taking care not to strain her wounds as she went. Anxious, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to check what time it was – not that time had any real meaning to everyone on the Zephyr anymore, but it was a familiar habit that somewhat comforted her – and as she unlocked her screen, for some reason her finger automatically opened up her photo gallery, and she looked at the photo she'd taken of Sousa not long before they'd been abducted by Malick. She chuckled softly to herself as she looked at Sousa's confused expression.

As Daisy left to keep Coulson company while the rest of his body was built, Daniel tried to make himself useful and help Deke mend some of the equipment in the cabinets under the screens…though it was hard to help when he didn't understand what any of these devices were. They only had ten minutes left and weren't getting any further on Deke's back-up plan to try and slow down the pulses on the fuel cell regulator or to the cut the power to the time drive. All their attempts did was cause a spark of electricity in the command bridge; the time drive was still malfunctioning.

When the Zephyr jumped forward again, Daniel took the initiative to devise Plan C: abandon ship. While on the hunt for parachutes, Daniel came across Daisy and Simmons in the L.M.D. lab where Coulson was sat. He briefly glanced at the machine where Coulson's body was still being built; lasers were slowly creating the lower part of his body, including his suit, as if out of thin air. He averted his gaze as he limped on; he would have to wait until another day until he was ready to process that. Poor Simmons was trying desperately to come up with more solutions, but it was pointless. They were depending entirely on Yo-Yo now. All they could do was wait for her and May to return, and hope that Daisy's plan to get help from Jiaying had worked.

Daniel walked unsteadily past them all to locate the parachutes downstairs in the loading bay, and Daisy turned and watched him anxiously as he limped away, concern all over her face. Jemma and Coulson noticed, and exchanged the briefest of looks before Jemma dashed off downstairs to help Daniel.

Sighing, Daisy then slowly went over to Coulson's side, trying to comfort him while he watched the rest of his body materialize. The machine had reached his ankles now. It wouldn't be long until he was completed.

'I'm happy to see you healing,' Coulson said to her, but then he frowned thoughtfully. 'At least, it feels like happiness. I wonder how many ones and zeroes it takes to achieve that fuzzy feeling.'

Daisy looked at him sadly. She couldn't imagine how it must feel, how conflicted his mind must be. How could he trust anything he felt or wanted or thought? Sometimes she forgot that it wasn't _him_ , the man whom had practically been her father, the man she had grieved for. This decoy sat here before her just seemed so real. And she loved him just as dearly.

'Well, yeah, I was lucky,' Daisy murmured, a hint of a smile flickering briefly on her face. 'Sousa pulled me out of the wreckage…got us home.'

She paused slightly as she more flashes of what had happened came swimming back to the forefront of her mind. She could still hear his reassuring whispers that everything was going to be okay as he'd stroked her hair in that barn, she could still feel his arms wrapped securely around her as they'd waited in that truck, she could still hear his groans and feel his winces as he'd struggled painfully to carry her back to safety with his leg.

'I'm glad he's here,' Daisy said quietly to Coulson, nodding.

She was scared about what her words might mean. She didn't want to register what she was feeling deep inside. But it was too late to take the words back now.

Coulson gazed at her. 'That makes me happy too,' he said softly.

Daisy nodded, her eyes flickering down as she realised that he had almost sounded like a father giving his blessing. To say that she was 'glad' about Sousa's presence with the team was an understatement, and both she and Coulson knew it, but neither of them spoke any further on the matter. They didn't need to.

Meanwhile, downstairs while Daniel lay out the parachutes for everyone in the loading bay, Simmons approached with a case for him, containing a brand new prosthetic leg. Daniel stared down at it in amazement, hardly able to believe it existed; it looked real, like an actual leg. It was fit to his exact proportions, and matched his skin tone. A swell of affection for Jemma ran through him as he realised how much work she must have gone to in order to have this made for him in the short space of time they'd had together since he'd been brought aboard. It was so incredible that it left Daniel almost speechless, until he took the opportunity to apologise to Jemma for his rude behaviour the other day and thanked her for the leg and all she'd done for him and the team.

The Zephyr then jumped again; Daniel had lost count of how many times they had jumped now, but it was all matching Jemma's predicted schedule, which he supposed was a good thing…or at least, it would be, if they weren't running out of time so rapidly. Storing the case containing his new prosthetic by the parachutes, Daniel then hobbled upstairs to find Daisy. He found her up on the command bridge, with a now-complete Coulson, who was up and about in his suit watching the monitors closely with a frown on his face. Daisy looked utterly exhausted.

'Are you okay?' she asked Daniel as he approached.

'Yeah, you?' he asked, and she nodded. 'The parachutes are ready.'

'Thanks. Hopefully we won't need them.'

'Wow, guess the nineteen eighties must be really bad then, huh?' Daniel said, and Daisy gave him a weak smile. 'Sorry.'

'Don't be,' Daisy said at once. 'I haven't laughed in a while.'

Her smile faded slightly as she realised just how true that statement was.

'Simmons got me a new prosthetic,' Daniel said, trying to keep their minds preoccupied. 'She's gonna help me with it when…well, when this is over.'

'I know, she was right on it when we pulled you out of '55,' Daisy replied, remembering how Jemma had taken measurements of his leg after they'd knocked him out with the I.C.E.R. right after faking his death.

'Well I'm very grateful,' Daniel said sincerely, and as Daisy smiled warmly at him, he felt like he belonged.

'May and Yo-Yo should be back in a minute anyway, if all goes to plan,' Daisy said, taking a deep breath

'And then we either sink or swim?'

'Exactly.'

'It'll be cutting it close,' Daniel said anxiously, glancing at the time on the main screen, and he looked at Daisy in concern. 'You should sit down, save your strength in case we need to make a run for the parachutes.'

Daisy nodded wearily. 'Can't argue with you there.'

As she began to walk past him towards a seat, however, the Zephyr jumped again. She tripped as the force of the jump shuck the aircraft and she crashed into Daniel's chest. Daniel steadied her at once as she held onto his shoulders.

'Woah, you all right?' he asked, stroking her back without thinking. 'I thought I was finally getting used to the jumps but that was a rough one…'

'Yeah, I-I'm fine, sorry,' Daisy murmured breathlessly, removing her hands from his chest and shoulder hastily, but she allowed Daniel to guide her down to the nearest seat.

They both looked up at the countdown just as Jemma and Deke emerged from downstairs; they had forty seconds left until the next jump, and there was still no sign of the Quinjet. Even if Yo-Yo were to show up on time, there was no guarantee that she would have her powers back. They would be forced to lose the Zephyr, and they would only have forty-six seconds left in the next window to dock and evacuate.

Mack had only just declared that it was time to abandon ship when the Quinjet arrived and landed just in time for the next jump, to everyone's relief. But May and Yo-Yo didn't have good news.

'It didn't work,' Yo-Yo announced heavily via the comms.

Everyone's heads bent low in disappointment as Mack tried to reassure Yo-Yo, before ordering everyone to get to the Quinjet as quickly as possible.

Daniel went over to Daisy at once. Daisy rarely let anyone help her, but she didn't hesitate as Daniel reached for her arm and helped her out of her seat. The Zephyr jumped roughly again as they all raced across the command bridge and made their way towards the Quinjet, Daniel limping painfully on his leg as he and Jemma helped Daisy across.

'How much time have we got?' Daniel asked.

'Not enough,' Jemma replied worriedly.

Daisy grabbed Daniel by the wrist. This was all her fault…if the Zephyr blew before they had time to escape, then Daniel had stayed here with them for nothing…

'Sousa, I-I'm so sorry,' she said in dismay.

Daniel looked at her in alarm, confused, and he shook his head earnestly at her but before he could say anything, they then felt a sudden gust of wind as something shot past them at an incredible speed. Daniel, Jemma and Daisy all came to an abrupt halt, shocked.

'Yo-Yo,' Daisy breathed.

'Wh-what…what _was_ that?' Daniel asked, amazed.

It took them a few moments to realise then that the Zephyr was strangely still.

'Wait…the jumps have stopped,' Daisy said.

Jemma's face broke out in a wide beam. 'She did it!'

It was Yo-Yo; her powers had come back at the last second, and she'd managed to pull the fuel cell regulator and successfully deactivated the time drive. They were saved. For now, at least.

The whole team later reconvened in the command bridge, stunned and relieved and completely drained. While they all gratefully stored up on some food – Daisy found Sousa's delighted reaction to the small kitchen rather adorable – Yo-Yo and May told them all about their trip to Afterlife, which Daniel soon gathered to be a settlement for Inhumans. They revealed that Nathaniel Malick was still alive, having somehow survived the collapse of the barn back in 1976, and had tried attacking Jiaying and Gordon, two Inhumans they knew from Afterlife, who had now been forced to go into hiding. But that was a problem for another day. For now, Daisy desperately needed sleep and more time in the healing chamber to recover, otherwise she'd be of no use to anyone when the next fight came along.

Jemma helped fit Daniel with his new prosthetic leg and told him about some physiotherapy exercises he could do to help him adjust quickly. Daniel walked around the medical bay carefully, and could barely believe how smoothly it moved, how easy it was compared to the prosthetics he'd been used to all these years. He certainly wouldn't need a cane anymore. Indeed, it almost felt like it was real. He practised some more with it when he helped Jemma, Mack and Yo-Yo move the healing chamber to the equipment room, to give Daisy more peace and quiet. Jemma brought Daisy down not long afterwards, and as Daisy flashed Daniel a grateful smile Daniel thought he saw Mack and Yo-Yo raise their eyebrows knowingly at each other, their lips twitching, before departing to settle down for the night.

Daisy hovered reluctantly in the equipment room doorway as she looked at the chamber. Jemma caught Daniel's eye and they exchanged a nod before she patted Daisy gently on the shoulder and left them to it.

Daniel walked over to Daisy in the doorway. Her face was creased with worry. He knew what was on her mind at once.

'I know it's hard, but…try not to think about Malick for now,' he said gently. 'We'll get that son of a bitch – pardon my language – but…today's not that day.'

Daisy nodded. 'I know. You're right,' she said, sighing, and she looked at him affectionately. 'I just realised…I never thanked you.'

'For what?' Daniel asked, frowning.

Daisy tilted her head at him. 'You saved me. In that barn. If you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have made it out alive.'

'Neither would I, if it hadn't been for you,' Daniel pointed out, and he smiled. 'It was a team effort. We made it out together.'

Daisy smiled back, and then swallowed, uncomfortably aware of how her heart had started to race for no reason. 'I hope…I hope you stay. Properly, I mean. With the team,' she said, unable to look him in the eye.

Daniel nodded thoughtfully. 'This whole…situation is completely crazy and I'll probably regret this decision later but…I would very much like to stay,' he said, and Daisy's face lit up slightly as their eyes locked.

'Yeah?'

'Yeah,' Daniel murmured, returning her smile.

'Good. That's good,' Daisy said, averting her gaze in the hope that he wouldn't notice her cheeks colouring.

It came as a shock to her that she could form a connection so quickly with someone so different. He was so straight-laced and old school. But he was righteous and thoughtful, a man of principles and honour, a man with a good heart. How could anyone _not_ grow fond of him?

Daisy's eyes then fell to the healing chamber. She looked almost afraid.

'What's wrong?' Daniel asked softly.

She hesitated as she looked at him. Normally, Daisy would say, 'nothing' and toss it off. She'd become so used to isolating herself so as not to inconvenience the people she cared about with her pain or fear. But she didn't want to do that anymore.

'I don't like being in that thing. I know I need to go back in, I just…' She trailed off, knowing that she didn't need to explain to him; he'd seen her strapped to that medical table in the barn after all.

'I'll stay for a bit, if you like,' Daniel offered. 'I'll sit nearby. Not sure if it'll be any comfort but…'

Daisy's lips twitched slightly. 'Aren't you, like, _insanely_ tired? You've hardly had time to get some proper sleep since we pulled you out of '55.'

Daniel shrugged. 'I'm running on adrenaline.'

'I get that.'

'C'mon, get in there,' Daniel said, indicating the chamber. 'You'll feel better after. I'll stay 'til you fall asleep.'

He was so attentive and caring, without being overbearing or condescending in any way. It was a rare quality in any man, and one Daisy hadn't realised until now just how much she liked. She was so used to trying to be the strong one and telling people they didn't need to look out for her, but it was strangely nice to let him do this favour for her, without making a fuss, and let her walls come down for him.

Daisy touched his wrist briefly, and she tried to ignore the spark that shot through her at the feel of his skin. 'Thank you,' she murmured, and he smiled.

'Anytime.'

Taking a deep breath, Daisy then walked over to the open healing chamber and began to unwrap the bandages on her arms and wrists. Her hands didn't hurt as much now as they had done earlier, which was something. Daniel stayed by the doorway, not wanting to pressure her into going into the chamber until she was ready, but he needn't have worried; breathing heavily, Daisy then slowly slid into the chamber and reluctantly lay down. There was something strangely domestic about the way she wordlessly got into the chamber as Daniel walked past her to the chair he'd left nearby.

Daniel sat down on the chair and lifted his new prosthetic leg to tap the button on the side of the chamber. She flashed him a quick grateful smile as the glass dome began to close around her before closing her eyes. She knew that, for the first time in what felt like ages, she would be able to go sleep quickly. She felt secure with him by her side. She knew he would keep her safe, because he had got her home. It was an unfamiliar feeling, one that left her insides tingling slightly, but now wasn't the time to ponder on that. Now, she needed to rest.

The glass encasement locked with a click and the chamber instantly began whirring, the lights scanning Daisy and working their magic. Daniel folded his arms as he sat back in his chair and gazed over at her, sighing deeply with a small tender smile on his face. He knew he should probably go to his bunk and get some sleep himself, but what if something changed? What if something went wrong with the chamber, or she woke up in pain, or she had a nightmare? It was probably best for him to stay here…although it did mean that this meant he would be left alone with just his thoughts, and forced to recognise the burgeoning feelings for this extraordinary woman that he could now no longer deny.

He didn't understand any of it. They'd only known each other a few days. Daniel's life had completely changed; he'd had to grieve his own life and everyone in it, and be forced to suddenly adjust to this new one in a world that was almost alien to him. And yet somehow it felt right. _Why_ did it feel so right?

There then came a gentle tap at the open door, and Daniel looked up. Jemma was there, with a warm expression on her face.

'Agent Sousa?' she said gently. 'You should…probably get some rest. It's been a long day. Well, a long couple of days actually.'

'I'm okay, but…thank you,' Daniel said sincerely, smiling at her.

Jemma glanced over at Daisy, sleeping in the chamber, and back to Daniel in his chair. 'She'll be all right,' she said reassuringly. 'When she wakes, she can let herself out-'

'I know. But I woke up alone after my leg…' Daniel trailed off and sighed. 'I don't remember much from the field hospital that day, but…I do remember wishing someone had been there. And she's had a rough day.'

Jemma gazed at him and nodded slowly, smiling. She was stunned. This man had been given the ability to walk properly for the first time in years. He could be literally anywhere else. He could be giving his exciting new prosthetic a spin, he could be walking around to explore the rest of the Zephyr, he could be investigating more about the future and S.H.I.E.L.D and what he had let himself in for. But instead he was here, sat at Daisy's side to keep her company while she healed.

'We're lucky to have you, Agent Sousa,' Jemma said softly.

Daniel smiled back at her, though with a bemused frown. If anything, he thought, it was the other way around.

Leaving him to it, Jemma then walked away, feeling happier than she had done in quite some time.

' _I wish I had my own Fitz,'_ Daisy had said to her a while ago, almost tearfully.

_Well it looks like your wish has come true now, Daisy,_ Jemma thought to herself cheerfully.

Daniel turned his gaze back to Daisy as Jemma headed upstairs, and his expression softened. He didn't know why, but Daisy was the embodiment of hope for him…she was someone who made him think that perhaps this new life he'd been given wasn't going to be so bad after all. She was strong, determined, selfless, loyal, fun, smart, and never gave up. Daniel wasn't embarrassed to admit now that he had been smitten with Daisy from the moment he'd met her back in his Area 51 office in 1955. She had made him smile simply by relaying information of his personal history to him – something which normally would have worried him greatly – but he'd just found her so _fascinating_.

For the past four years or so, he'd thought that he would never be able to move on or feel anything like this ever again, that Peggy Carter's name would forever be engraved on his heart. But he had been wrong. Daniel knew that now, because the thought of Peggy no longer made his heart swell, like it did now for Daisy. Because he knew that he would do pretty much anything for this wonderful woman sleeping in the healing chamber before him. Because he knew that meeting Daisy Johnson might have very well been the best thing to ever happen to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying still! Spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the finale yet but OMG how perfect was that ending?! I'm so so happy (and surprised!) that we got a Daisysous endgame! I'm so excited to write the rest of their story!
> 
> However, I've been planning out my chapters and realised that this fic is going to take many more weeks until it's finished, and I'm aware that the fandom is already quieter now that it's over :'( I'm feeling very numb now that my favourite show has ended, so bear with me while I work on the chapters for my favourite episode (7x09!). Really hope there are a couple of readers out there who will still be interested in reading this fic to the end even after the show's finished haha, but fair warning - it may take a while!


	9. The Time Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x09 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just FYI, I'm starting this chapter from Daisy's POV in the first reset after her fifteenth (and final) death in the time loops (approx. 15.27 mins into the episode).
> 
> I originally intended 7x09 to be just one chapter, but I should have known how silly it was of me to assume I could condense the beauty of this episode to just a few pages. Soo I've split it up into three (yes, I may have gone a little overboard with this one but I just rolled with it) – I'll upload the second part within the next few days once I've finished editing!

Daisy woke up with a gasp. Breathing heavily, she pressed the button in the healing chamber and the glass lid slid open with a hiss. She scrambled out with a groan, feeling extremely lethargic, and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

‘Hey.’

Daisy spun around; it was Sousa, still sat in that chair and looking very groggy; clearly, she’d just woken him up. She’d thought he was only going to stay for a little bit.

‘What are you doing up?’ he asked her tiredly, frowning, as he straightened up in the chair.

‘Did we jump again?’

Daniel just looked confused. ‘I’m…not sure.’

Daisy stared at him, bewildered, and glanced at the chamber. She wondered how long she had been asleep. She turned back to look at him, unable to believe that he had stayed here and slept on that uncomfortable steel chair all that time when he had a perfectly comfortable bunk to go to instead. It looked like he had used the box of medical gloves perched on the edge of the counter as a pillow.

‘H-how long have you been here?’ she asked.

‘Well I guess, uh…when did you go to sleep? Since then,’ Daniel replied, a brief smile on his face as he tried to keep his eyes from drooping.

‘You…I’m sorry, you didn’t need to do that…’ Daisy murmured, unsure about how to register the fluttery feeling in her stomach.

‘It’s no problem, just wanted to check you were okay and…y’know, still resting,’ Daniel replied. ‘How are you feeling anyway?’

‘Uh…slightly stunned.’

Daniel chuckled softly. ‘No, I mean-’

But he stopped talking as they heard a voice raising in panic from the command bridge nearby. Daniel and Daisy exchanged a frown and, without another word, Daisy hurried forward to leave the equipment room.

‘Hey, wh-where’re you going?’ Daniel called after her, reaching out for her arm, but she’d already rushed past him.

He scrambled out of his chair and hurried after her. It was strange to be able to move so freely with his leg, to be agile once again. It was a nice strange though.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked her.

Daisy shook her head. ‘Something’s wrong.’

They went through into the command bridge; the frantic beeping of the alarms and the general sense of panic as Mack and May rushed around didn’t paint a reassuring picture. They soon found out that the time drive had overloaded and they couldn’t check any of the systems to see what was going on or read where they were. Heart beating fast, Daisy looked out of the front window to see that they were heading towards a whirling ball of light, a stream of rays emitting from it with all different colours of the rainbow. It might have looked beautiful if it hadn’t made Daisy think of a black hole.

Daniel looked around anxiously; the aircraft was rattling and shaking violently. It felt almost like they were in the middle of an earthquake, or like there was a fierce storm raging outside. While sparks flew and electricity crackled all around them, Daisy asked after the whereabouts of the other team members. Coulson was charging, Yo-Yo was on the Quinjet where the flight system had been damaged, and Jemma was in the medical bay downstairs reporting via the comms that radiation levels were off the charts.

A panicked Deke then emerged to reveal that they were trapped in a time storm. Removing the fuel cell regulator from the time drive hadn’t worked as they had hoped, and the Zephyr had jumped within a jump, which had torn a hole in space-time as a result. And now they were being pulled in towards the vortex, as if they were circling a drain. If they got pulled in, they would all cease to ever have existed…and they were only 48 kilometres away from it.

Before Daisy and Daniel had time to fully process this horrifying news, Mack then got hit by a radiation flare, which hit his eyes and also shorted out the doors to the Quinjet, trapping Yo-Yo there. The blast of radiation had blinded Mack; together, Daisy and Daniel brought him to Jemma downstairs in the medical bay, who tried to find something for the burns in a drawer containing various tools and items from Deke’s stay in the eighties.

Enoch then entered the medical bay to offer Jemma his help in examining the time drive, but Daisy couldn’t stick around; another flare of radiation had hit the Zephyr and a fire had started in the starboard side hallway.

‘I’ll go put it out,’ Daisy said, grabbing the extinguisher nearby. ‘Mack, stay there.’

‘Be careful,’ Daniel called after her.

Daisy paused, slightly dazed, as she looked back at him. Why should hearing him say those two words make her feel so warm inside? It made no sense. She then gave Daniel a shaky nod, and rushed off to the hallway, leaving him to help Jemma care for Mack. Daisy quickly put out the fire, but then as she made her way towards the L.M.D. lab to wake up the still-charging Coulson to alert him of their emergency, she heard the time drive begin to whir violently. She turned around; it was getting faster and louder and then suddenly –

*** * ***

Her eyes snapped open. She was in the healing chamber; she could barely see because of the blinding lights above her doing their scans. Breathing heavily, she sat up slightly and looked around with a frown, confused.

‘Huh,’ she muttered.

_What a strange dream._

She pressed the button to open the chamber and hopped down from the bed.

‘Hey,’ came Daniel’s tired voice. ‘What are you doing up?’

Daisy turned around and stared at him, perplexed. He was positioned on the steel chair just as he had been in that dream, looking just as exhausted and just as attentive.

‘Wait, how…?’

Daniel frowned as he straightened up in his seat. ‘Are you all right?’

‘This is so weird, I just had a dream where…’ But then Daisy trailed off and looked at him curiously. ‘Hold on…how long have you been here?’

‘Well I guess, uh…when did you go to sleep? Since then,’ he replied tiredly.

Daisy’s eyes widened. ‘Nooo,’ she said, her voice filled with dread. ‘No, no, no.’

Daniel grimaced and immediately got up to his feet. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, if you’d like me to go-’

‘No! No, no, it’s not that, really,’ Daisy said earnestly, stepping towards him. ‘I really appreciate that you stayed, I just…you just said exactly the same thing in my dream just now. Like, _exactly_ the same. And it felt so real as well, it…’

‘Is that another superpower, you can predict the future in your dreams?’ Daniel asked, a bemused half-smile on his face.

‘No, but I don’t blame you for…wait…unless it _wasn’t_ a dream,’ Daisy murmured, lost in thought, and Daniel looked at her blankly.

‘You’ve lost me.’

Daisy looked at him. The dark circles under his eyes looked almost like bruises, and no wonder; these past few days had been unbelievably overwhelming for him, and he’d barely had chance to stop to breathe and take it all in. His life had been completely upended. And yet here he had stayed, in the dingy equipment room on a hard steel chair, just to make sure she was all right.

Daisy’s expression softened. ‘I’m…I’m so sorry for waking you up,’ she murmured, ‘you need sleep more than I do.’

Daniel frowned sceptically. ‘That is… _not_ true at all. You should get back in th-’ But he cut off as he took in her raised eyebrows. ‘Yeah, no chance of that happening, is there?’

‘Nope.’

She turned and hurried into the command bridge. Daniel followed her automatically, and Daisy wasn’t sure why she didn’t feel more unsettled by it; she wasn’t used to having someone constantly sticking by her. It was then that she realised that she liked it. It was nice, him being there, as he always had been ever since he’d been brought aboard the Zephyr.

Her slight smile at Daniel’s loyalty disappeared the moment she came across the team in the command bridge, however. Sparks were flying, the Zephyr was rumbling violently, that terrifying vortex was swirling outside the front window, and a panicked Deke was announcing to everyone that they were trapped in a time storm. Without thinking, Daisy rushed to the cockpit to shut the doors before the radiation flare could hit Mack, but she was too late to tell Yo-Yo to get out of the Quinjet before the flare trapped her inside. Everything that had happened before was happening again, and no one else seemed to realise it.

_I’m stuck in a time loop_ , she realised.

‘This is so messed up, I need to speak to Simmons,’ Daisy said to no-one in particular, and she dashed off downstairs to the medical bay.

Daniel hurried after her. ‘Uh, Daisy, you don’t look so good-’

‘Well I sure as hell don’t feel it either,’ Daisy muttered, as they entered the medical bay. ‘I’m time-looping.’

‘You’re what, now?’ Daniel asked, confused.

‘Daisy, what…?’ Jemma began anxiously as they walked up to her.

‘I’m in a real-life _Groundhog Day_ situation, okay?’ Daisy told her, and Jemma grimaced and nodded in understanding.

Daniel looked utterly nonplussed. ‘That…was that meant to make things _clearer_?’

‘I’m repeating the same events. This has already happened for me. Everyone back there was saying the exact same thing they’d said before,’ Daisy explained to them both, breathing heavily. ‘You’ve gotta believe me – look, in a few seconds, Enoch’s gonna walk in here asking if he can help take a look at the time drive, and then a few seconds after there’s gonna be another radiation flare and May’s gonna tell us there’s a fire that needs putting out in the starboard side hallway.’

When Daisy’s premonition came true merely a few moments later, Daniel stepped backwards into the table, overwhelmed. ‘You scare me sometimes, you know that?’ he said to her.

Daisy turned to him but was relieved to see that there was a slight smile on his face. Her lips twitched before she grabbed the fire extinguisher.

‘I’m gonna put out the fire – can you guys try and…I don’t know…work out what’s going on with me?’ Daisy asked Jemma and Enoch desperately.

Jemma nodded. ‘We’ll see what we can do, there must be some explanation.’

Daisy didn’t know why she was surprised to see Daniel following her to the hallway. No matter what was happening, he always gravitated towards her. He was protective, but without the usual irritating bravado that Daisy had come across in most men. It was quite refreshing.

‘You know, it only takes one person to put out a fire,’ Daisy said, glancing at him.

‘I-I know, I just…’

‘You just what?’ Daisy prompted, calling to a halt and raising her eyebrows at him.

‘W-well…’ Daniel almost faltered under her gaze. ‘I wanna help.’

Daisy smiled. ‘I know. Thank you,’ she said. ‘Could you…maybe go wake up Coulson? He’s in the charging point in the L.M.D. lab.’

‘Sure,’ Daniel replied, ‘and good idea, he might be going through this…Groundhog time loop thing as well.’

Daisy paused, the extinguisher held loosely in her hand. ‘Wh-what d’you mean, why do you say that?’ she asked.

Daniel hesitated. ‘Well…you were in that bed machine…or healing pod, whatever…when you woke up and things started repeating for you…and he’s in a similar sort of pod to charge, so maybe he-’

‘-Maybe he’s experiencing the time loop as well,’ Daisy finished for him in awe, and she beamed at him. ‘Sousa, if I didn’t have a fire to put out right now, I’d hug you.’

Daniel laughed as he averted his gaze, and to Daisy’s pleasant surprise his cheeks began to redden. ‘Don’t get too excited, I’m probably wrong, I don’t understand how any of this works,’ he said, and he stepped towards her and took the extinguisher gently from her hand. ‘Let me sort out the fire, you wake up Coulson, find out what he knows.’

Daisy gazed at him, her parted lips still smiling, but before she could say anything or even turn towards the L.M.D. lab, the sound of the time drive violently whirring began to get louder.

‘Dammit,’ she muttered.

‘What is it?’ Daniel asked.

‘I think the time drive’s freaking out again,’ she replied exasperatedly, ‘this is what happened the last time and then everything reset and I woke up back in the-’

*** * ***

She’d already slammed her fist against the chamber button before she’d even opened her eyes. This time, however, Daisy made extra care to get out of the healing chamber slowly and quietly, her boots landing lightly on the floor as her gaze fell on Sousa. He was sleeping peacefully on the chair, though his neck looked somewhat strained as his head lolled against the squashed box of medical gloves. Daisy sighed as she stepped over towards him. He had been so stressed and so worried with hardly any sleep for the past few days. The selfish part of her wanted to wake him, but that would just be cruel; why bother waking him and putting him through even more? Tiptoeing past, Daisy left the equipment room and immediately headed for the L.M.D. lab.

The moment she woke up Coulson from charging, he greeted her exasperatedly with the news that this had happened numerous times already – proving Sousa’s theory correct – and that she had forgotten everything because she had ‘died again’, for a _fifteenth_ time, during the previous loops. Aghast, Daisy sank onto a seat in the lab as Coulson hurriedly tried to catch her up on everything they had worked out so far before her unfortunate demise a few loops ago.

The time drive was stuck; it kept looping back on itself over and over again. They couldn’t fly out as radiation flares had damaged the navigation controls, so in the previous loops they had narrowed the solutions down to fixing the time drive, but they just didn’t know how yet, and they kept running out of time in each loop before everything reset. Worse still, the Zephyr was getting closer and closer to the vortex each time the loop reset, as Deke kept revealing a shorter distance in kilometres each time Daisy had asked him.

In the most recent loops, Daisy and Coulson had tried to solve faster by including the whole team and telling them all what was going on so that they could work the problem as quickly as possible before they ran out of loops. They had posited that Fitz might have left behind more information on the time drive that would help them fix it, and that was when they had discovered that Jemma had an implant blocking her memory of her knowledge on the time drive in order to protect Fitz’s whereabouts. Deke had suggested removing the implant temporarily so that they could retrieve the information they needed; after all, it was an absolute emergency.

After convincing Jemma that the time loop was real, she had reluctantly agreed and she’d entered the authorisation code into a scanning device to remove the implant from the back of her neck…only to then started choking violently until she’d collapsed on the floor and stopped breathing. In the next loop Daisy had accompanied her but had ended up choking to death as well; they had been poisoned by gas in the room. It had not been a naturally occurring leak; the cut had been made deliberately with a knife.

It took three loops for Coulson to fully explain to Daisy everything that had happened, and they were horrified to discover that they were now 41 kilometres away from the vortex. They were running out of time and someone on this aircraft was willing to kill just to keep them from unblocking Simmons’ memory.

‘Okay, so I know it’s all doom and gloom and we’re about to reset again but just to cheer you up before the next loop starts – in pretty much all the loops where he’s awake, Sousa has _always_ been at your side,’ Coulson said, and Daisy looked up at him, astonished. ‘He just won’t leave you. Not in a creepy way, don’t get me wrong – he just cares a lot. It’s kinda sweet.’

Daisy didn’t know what to think. ‘Wh-what…’

‘Yeah,’ Coulson said, smiling fondly. ‘The fifth time you died, he died right with you. It was extremely heart-breaking, I’ve gotta tell you.’

To her horror, Daisy could feel herself begin to blush. ‘But we’re n-not…Coulson, I-’

‘Don’t worry, I know there’s nothing going on,’ Coulson said, a teasing smirk on his face. ‘Just saying, if there _was_ …I’d say ‘good job’ to both of you. He’s one of the good ones.’

There was a pause.

‘I know,’ Daisy murmured eventually.

A small smile appeared on her face as she gazed at the wall, seeing nothing, her thoughts only on Sousa sleeping by the healing chamber downstairs. Coulson ended up having to snap his fingers to bring her out of her daydream.

‘Hey. You can pine over him later, we’ve got work to do,’ Coulson said, and he rolled his eyes as the time drive then began to whir loudly. ‘Come wake me up, and we’ll get the prime suspects together.’

*** * ***

The next loop found Daisy and Coulson in the medical bay, interrogating Deke, Jemma and Enoch about the implant. The three of them were protecting the knowledge blocked by the implant; knowledge that was apparently worth killing for. Who would resort to such drastic measures? As Jemma pointed out, it didn’t make sense. Perhaps someone had been brainwashed, or replaced by a Chronicom…though the thought of the latter didn’t bear thinking about.

After their inconclusive conversation, Coulson went upstairs to discuss the troubling situation with Mack and May, while Deke fetched the scanning instrument to remove the implant from the back of Jemma’s neck. Just as Daisy was about to leave to meet Jemma and Deke in the lab to remove the implant, however, she heard footsteps approaching the medical bay entrance.

‘Hey,’ Daniel greeted in relief, crossing the room, and Daisy’s anxious frown disappeared as she turned to face him.

‘What are you doing? You should be sleeping,’ they both said to each other simultaneously.

They both froze as they grinned at each other, amused.

‘Are you all right?’ Daniel asked, stepping towards her.

‘Not sure, it’s a long story,’ Daisy replied with a sigh. ‘Basically there’s someone on the Zephyr who keeps trying to kill whoever tries to remove an implant from Simmons – which we need to do because it’s blocking information Simmons might have on how to fix the time drive – and we’re just trying to figure out who it is. Oh, and we’re trapped in a time storm and the same events keep repeating, and we’re running out of time until we get pulled into a vortex and cease to exist.’

Daniel stared at her for a moment. ‘Okay. So…first things first, I think you guys need a _seriously_ long holiday when all this is over, you seem like you need it,’ he said, and Daisy’s lips twitched. ‘And second, what can I do to help?’

A smile spread on Daisy’s face, but before she could say anything, Jemma and Deke had re-emerged in the medical bay.

‘Daisy. I thought we were doing this just us three,’ Deke said, casting Daniel a wary glance.

‘And Enoch,’ Jemma added.

‘W-well Sousa can help, he-’

‘What if it’s him though?’ Deke interrupted sharply.

Daisy stared at Deke for a moment, completely flummoxed. ‘Wh-what?’ she said, and she felt almost like laughing.

Deke looked at her apologetically. ‘We don’t know him that well – no offence, Agent Sousa, but we don’t-’

‘None taken,’ Daniel said, holding his hand up.

‘-How do we know he’s on our side?’ Deke asked, as Jemma looked on uncomfortably.

Daisy was incredulous. ‘Is that a serious question? You think _Daniel Sousa_ could be working against S.H.I.E.L.D.?’

‘He only just came onto the Zephyr a few days ago,’ Deke said defensively, ‘we don’t know what-’

But Daisy was shaking her head. ‘There’s no way it’s Sousa.’

‘Uh, could I have a say in this?’ Daniel said tentatively, stepping forward.

‘Please,’ Daisy encouraged.

‘Whatever you think I could be doing, it’s not me,’ Daniel said to Deke. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘Well you _would_ say that, wouldn’t you?’ Deke pointed out.

‘Deke, just stop talking. Sousa’s not the one doing this,’ Daisy said firmly. ‘I trust him.’

This only seemed to irritate Deke more. ‘No, you just think he’s hot, there’s a difference-’

Daniel raised his eyebrows. ‘Uh, sorry, what?’

‘I don’t think…well actually, if we’re all being honest here then yeah, I do – sorry, Sousa, but you are seriously _rocking_ that shirt – but that’s not it,’ Daisy said, her cheeks reddening slightly as Daniel tilted his head at her with a hint of an intrigued smile on his face. ‘He saved my life, he’s been looking out for me-’

‘Okay, and that’s just because he thinks _you’re_ hot!’ Deke interrupted, frustrated, and Daisy shook her head in protest.

‘No he doesn’t, you’re-!’

‘Well actually-’ Daniel interjected, but Daisy flashed him a glance.

‘Not the point right now, Sousa, but please do tell me later,’ she said, feeling a little flustered as he nodded back at her, and she turned back to Deke and sighed. ‘The point is, he’s looked out for us all even when he could have hated us for pulling him out of his timeline. He’s not just a S.HI.E.L.D. agent, he’s part of this team now-’

‘But what if he’s a Chronicom?’ Deke asked, and Daisy felt her heart sink as she watched Jemma’s expression turn almost fearful as she looked at Daniel. ‘What if he was a trap placed in the fifties, as a way for them to work on the inside?’

‘Th-that…no,’ Daisy murmured, refusing to even consider such an idea as she glanced at Daniel. ‘N-no, that doesn’t make any sense…’

‘Oh c’mon, Daisy, you _know_ it makes sense!’ Deke said. ‘We don’t know this guy, we haven’t even known him a full week yet, we-’

‘He’s not a Chronicom!’ Daisy snapped.

There was a tense pause as all four of them looked at each other. Daniel took a step back, a little unnerved. After all the things he’d seen since meeting these people, he wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that he _was_ one of these Chronicom things and he just didn’t know it.

‘How can you be sure of that?’ Deke asked Daisy challengingly.

‘Because…because he _cares_. I don’t know why, but he does,’ Daisy said, and she gestured Daniel beside her. ‘You’ve just gotta look at h-his expressions and his…his body language. He’s…he’s the most human person I’ve ever met.’

Jemma sighed. ‘Daisy’s right, Deke. He’s human. You saw what state he was in when he brought Daisy back to the Zephyr after they’d escaped Malick, you saw how he stayed by the healing chamber,’ she said softly, and Daniel began to blush slightly as he felt Daisy’s gaze on him. ‘No Chronicom would even understand the reasoning for that sort of behaviour.’

‘Right here, guys,’ Daniel muttered awkwardly, averting his gaze. ‘I’m right here.’

‘What if they’d spent years learning his behaviour though?’ Deke went on. ‘If Sousa’s the sort of guy that acts like that-’

But Daisy interrupted him with a loud groan of frustration; they didn’t have time for this. ‘Daniel Sousa is _not_ a suspect in this, okay? He would never try to kill one of us, he doesn’t even know what this implant is, he didn’t know anything about this until just now. He is human and he’s a part of this team.’

‘Well so am I, so why am I being treated like a guilty part in this?!’ Deke asked, hurt.

‘You’re not!’ Daisy said at once. ‘But you promised to protect Simmons’ secret so-’

‘And you think I’d do that by _killing her_?!’ Deke said, outraged.

‘No, of course not! But you’re part of the key to figuring out what’s going on and why these…murder attempts keep happening, whoever’s behind it,’ Daisy replied.

There was another silence as they all continued to look at each other, breathing heavily. Unable to bear the tension any longer, Daniel then cleared his throat and stepped forward.

‘So…are you all done making your mind up on whether I’m a robot now?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows at them all.

‘Yes,’ Daisy said firmly.

‘Sorry,’ Deke mumbled.

Jemma tried to smile apologetically. ‘Deke never meant to offend you, Agent Sousa, we just…need to be cautious.’

‘I understand,’ Daniel said.

Daisy sighed. ‘Hey, at least the loop will reset soon and you guys will forget this conversation ever happened.’

‘How long have we got?’ Jemma asked.

‘Not long enough now. The time drive will reset in about a minute, I’m guessing,’ Daisy said wearily, ‘we’ll just have to try this again in the next loop. Maybe next time, Deke, don’t waste our minutes on some pointless argument about the most innocent guy on this ship.’

Deke nodded guiltily.

While Jemma guided him away to reassure him, Daisy sank heavily onto a nearby seat. Daniel walked over to her, a soft expression on his face.

‘Did you not doubt when Deke mentioned it? Even for a second?’ he asked.

‘No,’ Daisy realised, looking up at him.

Daniel frowned curiously. ‘How come?’

Daisy hesitated before answering. ‘Your eyes,’ she murmured, looking down at her lap.

No Chronicom could ever have the ability to look at her the way Daniel looked at her.

Before Daniel could respond, the sound of the whirring time drive then began to blare out throughout the aircraft.

‘Ugh, here we go again,’ Daisy muttered, and she smacked her head irritably into Daniel’s chest as the whirring got louder.

She thought she felt Daniel’s comforting hand on the small of her back as he chuckled lightly but then in a flash he was gone and she woke up right back where she had started. It was as if none of it had ever happened at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued VERY soon…


	10. Sousa's Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x09 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

She sat bolt upright, nearly launching her head into the glass encasement of the healing chamber. Daisy pressed the button and watched Sousa sleeping as the lid opened; she’d got into the habit of taking a moment or two to watch him sleep whenever the loop reset and she woke up back in here. It was the calm before the storm.

In the loop that followed, Daisy woke up Coulson from his charging pod and he revealed Mack and May’s idea from the previous loop to get Yo-Yo involved. So, while Daisy explained the situation to Jemma, Coulson worked on trying to free Yo-Yo from the Quinjet; it was possible that she could be fast enough to get the implant out of Simmons before the notorious Someone had the opportunity to stop her.

Alas, it didn’t work as it took Coulson too long, so while Coulson tried to speed up freeing Yo-Yo in the next loop once it had reset, Daisy headed back to find Jemma in the medical bay. While Jemma left to prepare in the next room, Daisy went to get the scanner but then paused as she saw that Deke’s cologne from the eighties had already been taken out of the drawer on the counter.

Daisy’s heart jolted uncomfortably. Someone had been in there, possibly to tamper with something inside – the scanner? She could feel her sense of paranoia building as she remembered Coulson describing the gas that had choked herself and Jemma to death. She didn’t need to turn around to see who it was when she heard footsteps approaching from behind.

She heard a sigh of relief. ‘I’ve been looking for you,’ Daniel said, breathing heavily as he came up to her; he had been panicking ever since he’d woken up in the equipment room to see the healing chamber empty. ‘You should be resting, what are you doing out of that bed?’

_Every time_ , Daisy thought fondly to herself, though her eyes remained fixed warily on Deke’s cologne.

Just like Coulson had said, Sousa kept gravitating towards her each loop when he awoke, no matter what, always looking out for her wellbeing. It reminded her of Fitz, always following Jemma around back in the good old days on the Bus before all the trauma that had followed when they had been merely young, innocent friends.

‘Daisy?’ Daniel asked warily, as Daisy moved towards the drawer. ‘What’s wrong?’

She was staring at a bottle of yellow cologne on the counter as if it were poison. It was beginning to unnerve him.

‘Daisy?’ he repeated.

‘Okay, here’s the deal,’ Daisy said, turning to face him and taking a deep breath. ‘I’m sort of…trapped in a time loop.’

‘A time loop?’ Daniel said, confused. ‘Is that modern-day talk for…well, I don’t know-’

‘I keep repeating the same events over and over again. Specifically, me waking up in this chamber and if you wake up you always ask what I’m doing up, then we go into the command bridge and Deke tells us we’re trapped in a time storm and we’re getting closer and closer to getting pulled into a vortex…It’s hard to explain but it’s like a record skipping, it keeps looping over and over again,’ Daisy explained impatiently, hoping she was making enough sense. ‘It’s only affecting me and Coulson, though, the rest of you all forget each time it resets.’

Daniel frowned, looking utterly baffled. ‘That’s creepy. Why does no one else remember?’

‘You thought it might be because me and Coulson were the only ones asleep in futuristic sleeping pods when the time storm hit us,’ Daisy replied.

‘ _I_ did?’ Daniel said, raising his eyebrows sceptically.

‘A few loops ago, yeah. Or…maybe even way before in one of the earlier loops I can’t remember, just ’cause Coulson said I’d mentioned that theory before…’ Daisy said thoughtfully, frowning.

‘Well that’s weird…’

‘‘Weird’ doesn’t even begin to cover it – apparently I’ve died fifteen times already in these loops,’ Daisy said, and Daniel pulled a horrified face at her. ‘Yeah, I know! And each time I die, I forget everything that happened before so I start from scratch in the next reset and then I have to learn everything all over again. It’s _super_ annoying.’

‘How many times have you been through this loop?’ Daniel asked warily.

‘Coulson isn’t sure because I haven’t always powered him up in each reset but…nearly a hundred? Maybe more?’ Daisy said, grimacing, and Daniel looked almost dizzy.

‘Good lord.’

‘Yeah. It’s bad,’ Daisy said heavily. ‘And we’re running out of time, we keep getting nearer to the vortex and there’s nothing I can do to stop us getting…pulled in and removed from existence.’

‘Okay, well you’re wrong there because it’s not all down to just you to stop it,’ Daniel said calmly, wishing she would stop having the weight of the world on her shoulders. ‘So what do we need to do?’

Daisy looked up at him. _We_. He’d said, ‘we’. She liked that, a lot more than she ought to.

‘W-well Simmons has this implant blocking her knowledge of the time drive, we just need to get it out so she can tell us how to fix it,’ Daisy explained, ‘but whenever Simmons gets the scanner someone on this ship keeps killing her – and anyone else who happens to be in the way, I guess. Last time it was gas, God knows what-’

‘How do we remove the implant?’ Daniel asked.

‘With the scanner, it’s in this drawer,’ Daisy replied, indicating the drawer in front of them. ‘Simmons normally gets it, but I thought she should stay away from it this time until I…figure out what the hell’s going on…’

‘Okay, so…let’s-’ He trailed off, having already opened the drawer.

Daisy looked down. The contents looked harmless enough. The scanning device Jemma had used before was right there, easily within reach. And yet…

‘That one’s the scanner. But something’s not right…that cologne has been inside the drawer every time I’ve experienced these loops, but in this loop it’s been taken out,’ Daisy said, pointing at Deke’s cologne left on the counter, and she frowned anxiously. ‘Someone’s already been in here. Unless…unless Simmons went in it before, or…oh I don’t know…’

Daniel held his arms out as if to reach for the scanner but then paused, leaving them hanging mid-air. He still couldn’t really wrap his head around everything that Daisy had just told him. Time loops…attempted murders…vortexes pulling them in…

‘Are you okay?’ Daisy asked him.

‘Just…same as usual, a lot to take in,’ Daniel replied.

Daisy nodded sympathetically. ‘Yep. You get used to it.’

He looked up at Daisy, who was still glancing fearfully down into the open drawer. ‘A time loop?’ he said, as if saying the words aloud would help him make sense of it in his head.

‘Fun, right?’ Daisy said, sighing wearily.

‘It’s why I wanted to stay with this team,’ Daniel said dryly, and he raised his eyebrows at her. ‘You ever had a day where something crazy _doesn’t_ happen?’

‘It’s been a while,’ Daisy admitted, too wary to take her eyes off the contents inside the drawer.

Daniel smiled. ‘Reminds me of my SSR days,’ he said fondly, rubbing his hands together.

Deep down, he’d enjoyed his strange cases with the SSR back in the forties much more than his office duties as a high-ranking official in S.H.I.E.L.D. later on in his career, investigating HYDRA moles within his own organisation. He hadn’t realised it at the time – he had been focussed solely on Daisy lying in that healing chamber when he had brought them back to the Zephyr – but looking back now, he wondered whether that had also influenced his decision to stay here. The excitement of the unknown and the promise of adventure had been too much to resist.

Daisy took a deep breath. ‘We just need to get the implant out,’ she said decisively.

There was no point putting it off; every second they had was precious, and she was wasting her time simply stood here, afraid that something might happen if she touched the scanner. Daisy reached down to pick up the device, but Daniel dived forward to stop her, panicked.

‘Wait!’ he said at once, frowning anxiously, and Daisy froze as she watched him shake his head rapidly. ‘Hmm…it’s a trap.’

‘W-well we don’t know that yet-’ Daisy began.

‘No, we do,’ Daniel said. ‘You said somebody obviously went through the drawer and…Simmons was supposed to get the scanner, right?’

‘Yeah, until I told her I was gonna do it,’ Daisy said, and they looked up as the electricity crackled and the lights flickered above them; the storm was getting worse out there.

‘Every attempt so far has been on Simmons,’ Daniel said. ‘She’s the one they’re trying to kill.’

‘Maybe, but we still need the scanner,’ Daisy pointed out.

‘R-right but if I die, I’ll just, you know, reset, no problem – if _you_ die, you lose your memories and…you have to waste all this time relearning everything,’ he said matter-of-factly, and Daisy’s face fell slightly as she realised what he was about to do. ‘Time we don’t have.’

He looked back down into the drawer. It was a risk, and a few days ago he would never have believed the concept of ‘time loops’ or ‘resetting’, but he trusted Daisy. He believed in her. And he believed in this team and their survival. It was the only way.

Daniel reached down and quickly grabbed the scanner, yanking it out of the drawer before Daisy had time to reach out and stop him. They both stood there in tense silence for a moment, breathing heavily, as Daniel stared warily at the scanner in his hand and Daisy gazed at him with wide, fearful eyes.

Nothing happened.

Daniel raised his eyebrows hopefully at her. ‘So…’ he said lightly, as Daisy closed her eyes and exhaled deeply in relief. ‘It’s fine.’

But as he moved and adjusted the scanner in his hand, they both heard a ‘snick’ sound from the device and Daniel grunted in pain slightly as he backed against the counter. Daisy froze in horror; it had injected him with something.

Groaning, Daniel slowly reached his hand out to his chest as he gazed apologetically at Daisy.

‘Sousa,’ she whispered.

He grunted again as suddenly blood began to trickle out from his mouth, and he lost his balance.

_Poison._

‘Hey, hey, hey, hey, Sousa!’ Daisy said, panicked.

His knees then gave way and he collapsed to the floor.

Daisy grabbed hold of his arm, trying to steady him. ‘Hey,’ she said in anguish, falling to the floor with him and holding him as the blood gurgled from his mouth.

Daniel’s eyes were wide with panic. He looked terrified. Crying out, Daisy reached a hand round the back of his neck to cradle his head as he spluttered out more blood.

‘No, n-no, please no. Stay with me,’ Daisy said desperately, and she rested his head on her lap, just as he had done for her back in the barn. ‘Oh God, I-I’m so sorry.’

‘D-don’t…’ Daniel protested, spitting out more blood as he struggled. ‘Wake me up next time…w-we’ll figure it out…’

‘Shush, don’t talk, don’t talk,’ Daisy whispered, holding him close as she tried to steady his shaking limbs. ‘It’s okay. I’m here.’

‘Y-you should go-’

‘No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying with you, okay?’ Daisy said gently, her voice wavering as his blood trickled over her jeans. ‘And w-we’ll reset in just a few minutes, and none of this will have happened. Y-you’ll be okay. I promise.’

It wasn’t until she saw a tear land on his forehead that Daisy realised she had started crying. She couldn’t fathom why this was affecting her so deeply; she knew this wasn’t _it_ , she knew this would be over soon and time would reset and she would wake up in a few minutes to find Sousa sat there by the healing chamber, perfectly alive and safe. But actually watching it happen before her very eyes, seeing the life drain from him after he had taken the risk in her place just to help save them all, was horrifying.

‘I-I’ll see you…s-soon then…’ Daniel gurgled out, more blood spluttering out from his mouth.

Daisy attempted a smile as she wiped the blood from his face and stroked his hair. ‘Yeah. Very soon,’ she whispered.

She cradled him in her arms as he died, and when he finally stopped breathing and the outpouring of blood came to a stop, Daisy let out a shaky exhale. She knew deep down that she should get up and carry on to find Coulson and see if they could find another way – they were running out of loops after all, and every second counted. But she couldn’t leave Sousa, not like this.

Instead she gently shut Sousa’s eyes and pressed her forehead close to his as she rocked him tearfully in her arms until the sound of the time drive whirring – for the first time, a relief to hear – made her look up and close her eyes, as she prayed that she would never have to see Daniel Sousa dead again.

*** * ***

When she opened her eyes, she felt out of breath, as if she had been running for her life. Panicked, Daisy quickly straightened up in the chamber and looked across at Sousa, lounging on that steel chair with his arms folded and his head lolling against the box of medical gloves. She’d hoped that the mere sight of him alive and sleeping as usual would fill her with relief, but if anything she strangely felt even more anxious.

She pressed the chamber button agitatedly, and as the case opened she sat up, panting, and stared open-mouthed at Sousa, focussing on the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She scrambled out of the chamber as quickly and quietly as she could – she didn’t want to risk waking him – and walked over to him to make sure that he was okay. She paused by the open doorway, unable to leave. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, as if afraid that if she looked away he would die just like he had done merely moments ago before time had reset.

_Pull yourself together_ , Daisy tried telling herself, as she neared towards the door.

But it was so hard, after what she had just witnessed. She gazed at him longingly, and it felt as if a light had been switched on, as if she was only just seeing him for the remarkable man he was. A part of her wanted to stay, to wake him up and talk to him, to hug him tightly.

_‘Wake me up next time…w-we’ll figure it out…’_ he had said, as the blood had spurted from his mouth.

But she couldn’t wake him. She couldn’t watch that happen again, and she knew that Sousa would only keep sacrificing himself to help the team, because that was just the kind of selfless person he was…only one of these times, these loops wouldn’t reset.

Swallowing, Daisy then reluctantly turned away and left the equipment room quietly to head to the L.M.D. lab.

‘We are no closer to knowing who’s doing this,’ Coulson said frustratedly, once Daisy had woken him up and caught him up on what had happened.

‘Well, the upside is we’re making progress…thanks to Sousa,’ Daisy murmured, deep in thought.

She still couldn’t fully comprehend what Sousa had just done. He had sacrificed himself for her – well, for everyone in the team – just as Lincoln had done years ago. There had been no absolute guarantee that the time loop would reset; after all, if Daisy hadn’t spent those remaining minutes holding Sousa as he’d died in her arms, she and Coulson might have been able to somehow find another successful way in fixing the time drive…or something could have perhaps changed with the time storm and the loops might have simply stopped. Sousa had been willing to give his life for the team. He’d taken the risk for her so casually and without hesitation.

But Coulson was in no mood for praising Sousa’s heroic actions, despite his high admiration for the man; he was angry that he had to keep watching everyone die loop after loop. Daisy could tell it was practically driving him insane, or at least to the point of an existential crisis; Coulson didn’t see himself as a human with a soul, he saw himself as a _thing_ , a machine, being forced to helplessly watch the people he was programmed to love die over and over again.

That was when he realised – it was all to do with programming. The culprit behind these attacks was Enoch.

Jemma and Fitz had wanted to protect their secret, and they’d had Enoch on their side; it made sense that he could have had the power of suggestion programmed into him without his knowledge. Both Jemma and Enoch could genuinely believe they were innocent of this programming, because the implant blocked Jemma’s memory. Jemma and Fitz were protecting something huge; it was possible that Enoch had been programmed with the idea that nothing, not even his friendship with the team, could get in the way of that.

They tested Coulson’s theory later on in that very same loop by Daisy approaching Jemma with the scanner to remove the implant. Right on cue, Enoch immediately knocked Jemma out of the way, punched Coulson in the face and put his hand roughly around Daisy’s neck. Enoch confessed then that Jemma and Fitz had programmed him to protect the implant at all costs, even if he had to kill, proving Coulson’s theory correct. Daisy quaked Enoch away before he could do any damage, which left Enoch looking horrified, having broken free of the murderous rage that had activated the moment he’d seen the scanner.

At least they knew the truth now…but at what cost?

‘Hey,’ came a voice then. ‘Are you guys okay?’

Daisy couldn’t help but smile as she looked up to see Sousa emerging on the loading bay, having clearly heard the commotion. He hurried down the steps and went straight to her side.

‘We’re fine, Agent Sousa, thanks for asking – just having a little problem with Enoch,’ Coulson said agitatedly, throwing a conflicted glance in Enoch’s direction.

‘Ah. Daisy, I heard…those vibrations just now, are your powers back?’ Daniel asked.

Daisy tilted her head at him. ‘Are you about to lecture me on using my powers now?’

‘No, I was actually going to say how great it is that they’re back and they’re working properly now,’ Daniel said sincerely, looking impressed. ‘Means you’re getting back to full strength. That healing bed’s pretty amazing.’

Daisy’s lips twitched. ‘And this is the part where you say I should go back to it to rest for a few more hours, isn’t it?’ she guessed.

‘Y-yes. Yes, it is,’ Daniel replied, pulling a face. ‘Am I really that predictable?’

Daisy’s smile grew, making Jemma raise her eyebrows in delight; she hadn’t seen Daisy smile like that in _years_.

Daisy was surprised that Sousa’s persistent checking up on her within each loop hadn’t become annoying; she would have expected herself to get more irritated by his persistence with each loop, but instead every time he came to find her and try to get her to take care of herself, it only made her grow more fond of him. As the time drive began to whir yet again, she put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder affectionately, and looked over to see that Coulson was smiling warmly over at them both.

Despite the stress and trauma of this time storm, both Daisy and Coulson could agree that there was one consistently good element of these time loops, and that was Daniel Sousa.

*** * ***

The sound and blinding flash of the healing chamber’s scanning lights were really beginning to annoy Daisy now. She closed her eyes and groaned as she pressed the button to open up the chamber.

_When will this be over?_ she wondered irritably.

Well, one way or another, it would end soon. The distance between the Zephyr and the vortex was ridiculously short now.

Shaking her head and sighing heavily, Daisy got down from the chamber and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

‘Hey,’ Daniel greeted tiredly from the chair.

Daisy’s heart sank slightly; in her anger and frustration, she had completely forgotten to keep quiet so as not to wake him.

‘What are you doing up?’ Daniel asked, frowning at her in concern.

Daisy slowly looked up at him as she leant against the side of the healing chamber. Her expression was serious; he could tell she was deeply troubled. She stared at him for a few moments and then frowned, her lips parting, as if struggling to make him out.

‘Why do you care?’ Daisy asked him, genuinely curious.

Daniel gazed at her bemusedly for a moment and scoffed. She’d become so used to putting others first that it only made her confused when people gave her any attention.

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Because you don’t,’ he replied softly.

Daisy couldn’t think of any response to that, and simply nodded slowly. He was right, of course. She hadn’t cared about herself in a long time. Perhaps when all this was over, it could be a good chance to start trying that again.

She opened her mouth and closed it again, debating whether or not to talk to Daniel about the issue pressing on her mind ever since she had quaked Enoch away from her – she’d vowed to herself not to include him in any of this after the deathly injecting-scanner, after all – but then realised she _wanted_ to talk to him about it. Well, about everything, really.

‘I have to do something, and…I don’t know how,’ Daisy said helplessly, shaking her head at him.

Daniel frowned in concern; she seemed genuinely upset. He slowly got up from his seat and walked over to her.

‘Is it anything I can help with? Or even…if you just wanna use me as a sounding board?’ he offered, and Daisy smiled at him. ‘What?’

‘Nothing, just…every time you always…you always do this,’ Daisy murmured, shaking her head almost wearily. ‘You’re too nice.’

Daniel looked perplexed. ‘I…I’m not, I just…wait, what do you mean, ‘every time’?’ he asked, confused, as he leant against the side of the healing chamber as well, right next to her.

‘I’m stuck in a time loop, and…you offer to help me whenever you wake up each time everything resets, and…I have to somehow find a way to stop Enoch from following his programming, which is pretty much impossible, so we can get the information we need to fix the time drive and stop us from getting pulled into a vortex of…well, basically, death,’ Daisy explained, sighing heavily.

‘That sounds…fun,’ Daniel said warily, raising his eyebrows at her. ‘You’re being serious?’

Daisy exhaled sharply. ‘Unfortunately, yes.’

‘Well…as much as I may pretend to be the expert in Chronicoms and L.M.D.’s and whatever other robots you all have cooking up in the next century,’ Daniel said, making Daisy’s lips curve at one end, ‘I may not be the right guy to tell you what to do with this one. How about Simmons or Deke, could they know?’

‘Maybe, I’ll try them. I just…wanted to talk to you first,’ Daisy admitted, sighing; she was unafraid to say this aloud, knowing that the words would be unspoken and forgotten about when time reset. ‘You’re very…I don’t know…I guess you just make me feel better about this whole time loop mess. Sorry, that’s a bit weird, isn’t it?’

‘No, it’s…it’s fine,’ Daniel murmured, pleasantly dazed. ‘Glad I can be of some help, at least.’

She sighed heavily and stepped away from the chamber. ‘I’d better go wake Coulson, he might have a good idea.’

‘Let me come-’

‘No. Please, don’t,’ Daisy said at once, looking at him with a strange urgency in her eyes, and when he gave her a questioning look, she sighed. ‘Look, y-you died in the loop before last when you were trying to help, and…it’s all my fault.’

‘Oh,’ Daniel said, unsure how to process that. ‘But…I’m not dead now, I mean…look at me. You said these loop things…reset, right? So no problem.’

Daisy blinked rapidly. ‘Okay – I don’t understand how you’re so cool about this, but whatever – I still don’t wanna risk it again,’ she insisted.

‘But why?’ Daniel asked, frowning. ‘If it doesn’t matter-’

‘I don’t wanna watch you die!’ Daisy interrupted loudly. ‘I c-can’t do that again, I just…I can’t do it.’

A silence fell between them. Realising she had said too much, Daisy averted her gaze, embarrassed, and leant back against the chamber. She could feel his eyes on her, tender and caring.

‘Okay,’ Daniel said gently, surprised by her reaction; he hadn’t realised that he even meant that much. ‘Then can I help some other way?’

Daisy’s lips twitched, relieved. ‘You can help put out the fires when the radiation flares will hit?’ she suggested.

Daniel nodded. ‘Consider it done.’

Daisy nodded back, too emotionally drained to come up with the words to properly thank him for everything, and ended up leaning against his shoulder and chest, wanting to feel the reassuring warmth that she had grown attached to back at the barn. Daniel’s lips parted in surprise; he wondered if maintaining appropriate physical boundaries between co-workers had gone out of the window since the fifties, or if it was simply their shared vulnerable experience in the barn that had made Daisy so relaxed about such matters. Sensing her need for comfort, Daniel tentatively reached out and put his arm around her shoulder and for one blissful moment time stood still. Daisy just wanted to stay there, but knew she couldn’t. The clock was ticking, the next loop was fast approaching, and they needed to stop Enoch.

She slowly looked up at him. ‘I…’

Daniel understood. ‘You need to go,’ he murmured, withdrawing his arm.

‘I need to go,’ Daisy replied, reluctantly leaning away from him.

He smiled at her. ‘Good luck.’

‘Thanks.’

‘I’ll see you back in here, I guess. When you wake up again,’ Daniel said, bemused.

‘Yep. Though you won’t remember any of this,’ Daisy said sadly, and Daniel’s smile faded slightly as she left the room. ‘See you then.’

*** * ***

Daisy was once, once again, back in the L.M.D. lab with Coulson, trying to figure out a better plan to stop Enoch. The last loops’ task to try and find a way of extracting the implant from Jemma without Enoch finding out hadn’t exactly gone well. They had tried to do it surreptitiously but it hadn’t worked; Enoch had come marching into the room and flung Daisy into the wall before she’d even been able to hold the scanner to the back of Jemma’s neck. They soon worked out they needed to stop Enoch from going into the medical bay, which was where he started off each loop. Enoch had overheard them talking about removing Jemma’s implant in the previous loops, so they needed a distraction.

‘Hmm, can you think of anyone willing to do literally _anything_ to help us with this little task?’ Coulson said in mock thought.

Daisy’s eyes widened in protest at once. ‘No. No, we can’t do that, not after the last time he got involved-’

‘He won’t be going near the scanner, he just needs to distract Enoch for little while, that’s all. It’ll be perfectly safe. And even if it’s not, the time loop will reset anyway,’ Coulson added hastily. ‘He’ll be fine.’

Daisy bit her lip anxiously. ‘I’m not happy about this.’

‘You know it’s the quickest way,’ Coulson said apologetically. ‘We’re running out of time.’

And so Daisy reluctantly headed back to the equipment room, where she had left Sousa sleeping. She hesitated for a moment before leaning down and gently touching his shoulder.

‘Hey. Sousa,’ she said softly.

Daniel slowly stirred awake. ‘Hey. Are you okay?’ he asked at once, his tone concerned, and without thinking he reached out and his hand gently found her bare arm.

‘Y-yeah, I’m fine,’ she replied, and she didn’t pull away from him. ‘I was wondering, please could you do me a favour? I don’t have much time to explain.’

‘Sure, anything,’ Daniel replied, his hand still on her arm. ‘But…shouldn’t you be in bed-?’

‘No time for that, this is an emergency. I need you to distract Enoch,’ Daisy said.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. ‘Distract Enoch?’

‘Yes. In less than five minutes he’s gonna walk into the med bay, but you can’t let that happen. Otherwise he’ll try and stop me and Coulson removing the implant from Jemma’s neck and we won’t be able to stop the time loops,’ Daisy explained.

‘Uh…okay,’ Daniel said slowly, removing his hand from her arm.

Daisy stared at him as he got up from his seat. ‘What, that’s it?’

‘Why, is something wrong?’ Daniel asked.

‘N-no, I guess I just kind of expected a load of questions, that’s all,’ Daisy said bemusedly, shrugging.

Even Jemma was sceptical of Daisy each loop until she provided proof, whereas Sousa always followed her without question. She had lost count of how many times she’d experienced him doing that for her today.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at Daisy. ‘Oh, believe me, I have _plenty_ of questions, but I’ll save it till after you’ve done whatever needs to be done. Sound good?’ he said.

‘Great. Thank you, Sousa. You’re…you’re the best, you really are,’ she said, and with that she dashed off to the medical bay before she risked giving in to her impulse to kiss him on the cheek.

Unfortunately, it turned out that Sousa’s skills of making small talk with a highly-observant robot weren’t completely up to scratch yet. Daisy and Coulson were just about to start removing Jemma’s implant with the scanner when Enoch barged into the lab, dragging a tied-up Daniel with him.

‘Sorry,’ Daniel said desperately through his gag, before Enoch grabbed an exasperated Daisy and flung her once more into the air and she crashed into the wall. ‘Daisy! Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ Daisy muttered to Daniel wearily from where she’d collapsed in a heap on the floor while Enoch proceeded to beat Coulson against the wall. ‘As long as he doesn’t kill me before the loop resets, it’s fine.’

While Enoch and Coulson continued to fight and Jemma tried yelling at Enoch to stop, Daniel crawled over towards Daisy to check on her.

‘C’mere, let’s get this off you,’ Daisy murmured, reaching out weakly – Enoch’s attack had knocked the wind out of her – and pulling Daniel’s gag beneath his chin.

‘Thanks,’ Daniel muttered, eyeing the bloody scratches on her arms worriedly. ‘Can I take a look at…?’

‘There’s honestly no point, the loop will reset literally any second,’ Daisy mumbled from the floor, and then, bizarrely, she started laughing.

‘What? What is it?’ Daniel asked, wondering how she could be laughing while Enoch and Coulson were slamming each other into every surface of the lab before their very eyes.

‘You and Enoch, what the hell happened?’ Daisy asked, chuckling. ‘I love that he gagged you, that’s hilarious.’

‘Oh. W-well I…I tried asking him about the meal rota. Apparently I wasn’t that convincing,’ Daniel said, eyeing her awkwardly.

Daisy stared at him for a moment from the floor then began to laugh again while the chaos continued to ensue around them. Beginning to realise how ridiculous it all was, Daniel began to laugh as well, and his head fell on her lap as they both laughed together, collapsed on the floor, while Jemma backed anxiously into the corner and Enoch charged at Coulson, slamming him through the door and out onto the corridor.

*** * ***

Numerous loops continued to pass where Daisy and Coulson tried to come up with ways to evade the problem of Enoch, each one of their attempts more disastrous than the next. They all tried confronting Enoch directly to see if they could countermand his programming; first Daisy and Coulson, and then Jemma, Daisy and Coulson. When neither of these worked Coulson warily decided that they should get the entire team involved, so Daisy hurried to fetch Daniel first. She smiled fondly as she looked down at him sleeping on the steel chair; she didn’t want him to get mixed up in this, but they were desperate now and had to try anything, even if meant getting the whole team involved and put at risk.

‘Hey, sleepy-head,’ Daisy said, shaking him softly.

‘Daisy. You okay?’ Daniel asked, with that same sense of concern as before as he straightened up in his seat and reached out to touch her arm, worried that something was wrong. ‘What are you doing up?’

‘Long story. I’ll explain everything later but first, do you fancy helping us fight a robot?’ Daisy asked.

‘Absolutely,’ Daniel replied, leaping to his feet, and Daisy grinned at his enthusiasm.

‘Come with me, I’ll explain once the others are there,’ Daisy said, leading the way out of the equipment room.

As Daniel walked alongside her, he gave her a bemused frown. ‘By the way, did you just call me ‘sleepy-head’?’

‘I did,’ Daisy said with a heavy nod, ‘I promise it will never happen again.’

‘Actually I kinda liked it.’

Daisy looked round at him; he had the slightest of playful smiles on his face as he gazed at her, and she felt her heart skip a beat as she smirked back at him, and they walked on towards the loading bay to join the rest of the team.

This plan to tackle Enoch as a group didn’t go any better than the others. Daisy spent most of her time trying to blast Enoch away whenever he went near Daniel during the brutal fight but despite her efforts, they all got beaten to a pulp in the end, and Daisy ended up collapsed on the floor at Daniel’s feet, clutching onto his shoe as if her life depended it as he lay, paralyzed and broken, on top of one of the crates. It would have been almost comical, if they weren’t running out of time and would very soon end up getting pulled into the vortex.

They needed to try another way, Daisy knew, and they needed to do it fast. But there was no time to discuss it with her half-conscious (or in Deke’s case, dead) team members, as before they knew it the time drive began to whir again and off Daisy went, back to the start, to relive these precious few minutes again and again, until…inevitably…they would cease to ever have existed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter (final one of 7x09) to be published in a few days! Thanks everyone who's still reading and leaving such lovely feedback as well :)


	11. A Time Loop to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x09 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Daisy’s hand hit the button to the chamber before she’d even opened her eyes. The glass encasement slid open with a hiss, and she jumped out wearily, landing once more with a thud. Daniel’s head jerked up as he awoke, stunned, and he inhaled sharply.

‘Hey, what are you doing up?’ he asked gently, as per usual.

Daisy was feeling too fed up and hopeless to lead him in gently. ‘Uh, well, believe it or not, I am stuck in a time loop,’ she said, slamming her hand on the side of the healing chamber, ‘and I’m running out of ways to save us all.’

Daniel straightened up in his chair, slightly taken aback. ‘Okay,’ he said, his eyebrows raised as he tried to take in what she had just said. ‘How can I help?’

Daisy almost felt like bursting out laughing. She shrugged helplessly and shook her head, at a complete loss.

‘There’s no time, there’s…’ She broke off into a chuckle as she turned on the spot, feeling almost hysterical. ‘I…th…’ She trailed off, floundering.

Daniel watched her, and she realised from the look in his eyes that he was concerned, not about the predicament they were facing, but that she was on the brink of breaking down. Daisy gazed at him in amazement. How many times had he simply just accepted everything she’d said, no matter how senseless it was to him, and rushed to her aid, either to help her however he could or to insist that she look after herself? During the earlier loops, it had been refreshing and almost exciting, but now it was just downright confusing. Daisy had never encountered anyone who had cared this much. She wasn’t worth all that fuss, after all. And this man hadn’t even known her a week. It made no sense.

Full of disbelief, Daisy tilted her head at him. ‘Actually…I can take a loop,’ she said.

She grimaced because she knew she couldn’t afford to take this time out really, but she needed a break – even if just for her own mental state – and the first thing she wanted to do with that break was get to know Sousa better and find out what the hell was going on in that intriguing mind of his.

She walked over to the other side of the room and grabbed a chair; she dragged it over, her eyes never leaving Daniel, and sat down on it directly opposite him. Daniel simply stared at her, looking confused – if not a little alarmed – by the way she was watching him.

Daisy leaned towards him, filled with curiosity. ‘So that wasn’t hard for you to swallow? The-the time loop?’ she asked, and Daniel’s lips simply parted helplessly as he raised his eyebrows, at a loss with what to say. ‘Nothing seems to faze you.’

Daniel scoffed sceptically as he sat back with his arms closed, as if a little defensive at her interrogation. ‘It all fazes me, just…m-maybe not my face,’ he replied.

Daisy merely continued to gaze at him with parted lips, as if hardly able to believe he was real. ‘Every time I ask you for help, you say ‘yes’. Even if I don’t ask, you’re…waiting here to make sure I rest, or…whatever. Why?’ she asked, smiling bemusedly and looking completely lost. ‘Be honest.’

She said the last two words as if afraid to know the answer. Perhaps she was, deep down.

Daniel hadn’t looked concerned or embarrassed while she had spoken, just merely curious at where she had been going with her point. But he understood now. Daisy didn’t seem annoyed, just utterly baffled. Daniel gazed at her, full of sympathy; she really had no idea. She must have been burnt so many times that she couldn’t even recognise a person who genuinely cared for her.

He raised his eyebrows at her. ‘Honest?’ he said.

Daisy nodded back at him tentatively, knowing that there was no going back now.

Daniel hesitated before speaking and exhaled, a little nervous as he looked down briefly. They hadn’t known each other long, and he didn’t want to scare her away, not when she was the closest friend he had in this new team. But she was asking for honesty…and Daniel had never been very good at speaking about his feelings, he had always been too afraid or shy before, but now…with her looking at him like this…it felt only right to say what was on his mind.

‘I know your type,’ he began, looking at her.

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. ‘My…what, now?’ she asked, blinking rapidly.

‘I know people like you. Some of my favourite people are people like you,’ Daniel said, a fond smile on his face.

Daisy swallowed slightly as she registered the increase of her heartrate. She cocked her eyebrow at him, prompting him to continue.

Daniel inhaled deeply. ‘Focused on the greater good, even at your own expense,’ he went on, shaking his head slightly. ‘You want people to think you _like_ being alone, even though you always end up back with friends. You hate losing-’

‘Everyone hates losing,’ Daisy murmured.

‘Yeah,’ Daniel said with a frown, ‘but you’ll keep running at the problem full-tilt until you either…solve it or…slam headlong into a brick wall.’

He’d caught her off guard slightly. She hadn’t expected him to go off reading her like a book, as if he’d known her for years rather than days.

Daisy raised her eyebrows, realising that he maybe had a point. ‘Some of those walls are…literal,’ she muttered.

‘I know!’

Daisy frowned at him curiously, still a little confused. ‘But how does that-?’

Daniel answered her question before she’d even finished asking it. ‘Because when people like you run into those walls,’ he said, ‘you should have someone there to pick you back up.’

He was gazing at her with a look of both reverence and awe, as if he would do absolutely anything for her.

Daisy was taken aback by how much his words affected her. He wasn’t the type of person to tell her to stop running into those walls and doing what she needed to do…he was the type to support her no matter what. She realised in that moment just how lucky she was that the Chronicoms had decided to take the team away to Area 51 in 1955, that they had led her right to this man, this wonderful man who saw her and understood her like no one else did.

Daisy had always been the one to look out for everyone else, always the one that came in to save the day, always the one to remain strong. She loved everyone else so much that she forgot to love herself. She had never been used to that level support of someone looking out just for her, but Daniel was slowly helping her see that everyone needed someone to remind them that they mattered. She’d just never thought that she would meet someone like that herself. Until now.

‘And you…’ she began.

She trailed off nervously as she leant all the way back on her chair, putting her walls back up, as if afraid of the way his words made her feel, of how they filled her with something that seemed almost like hope.

‘You like to…be that…someone?’ Daisy asked nervously, her stomach filled with butterflies.

Daniel didn’t even hesitate before he spoke the words that he knew – or rather, thought – could never be unspoken. ‘Not for everyone,’ he said softly.

An inaudible intake of breath escaped Daisy’s mouth as she nodded, understanding what he meant. Her eyes felt rather wet all of a sudden. He wanted to be that person _for her_. To pick up the pieces every time. How could that be? What had she done to deserve it?

Daniel averted his gaze briefly as he continued, his heart thumping unevenly. ‘It helps if they’re fun to be around, and if they say what they mean,’ he said, looking back up at her as he unfolded his arms and leaned towards her in his seat. ‘And…if they have that superpower where they can…rock things around, which is… _very_ impressive.’

There was a slight pause as Daisy smiled at him, and suddenly it dawned on her that any caution or confusion she may have felt about Daniel’s feelings and behaviour towards her had completely dissipated.

‘That’s, um…that is… _awfully_ specific,’ she said, leaning back towards him in her chair to close the distance between them.

Daniel didn’t pull back. ‘Mm-hmm,’ he murmured, smiling softly and nodding, and his tone and the tender look in his eyes made her melt.

Suddenly it felt as if they were on the same ground, and closer to each other than they had ever been in some ways. A comfortable silence fell as they unflinchingly locked eyes, and Daisy gave Daniel a soft little grin of approval.

Deep down she’d suspected that he liked her, in a way more than just that of a fellow agent. She wasn’t sure when it was that she’d first got an inkling – perhaps yesterday when she’d first regained consciousness after Sousa had brought her back after being held captive at the barn? Had that only been yesterday? Or perhaps the day before? Maybe even three days ago? Whatever amount of time had transpired since then, it didn’t really matter; it felt like a lifetime ago, like so much had changed between them, and yet so much of this bonding between them now existed only in Daisy’s memory. Nevertheless, time loop or not, Daniel had basically expressed his feelings for her now. He might forget that he’d let them out in the open when time next reset but she most certainly would not, nor did she want to.

Daisy was in awe as she continued to gaze at Daniel for a moment that seemed so much longer than a moment. She felt like they were in their own little bubble, or some sweet dream where time loops and time storms and Chronicoms didn’t exist and it was just the two of them on the Zephyr, content in each other’s company. In spite of all the traumatising events that had occurred since meeting Sousa in 1955, she had felt happier over these past few days than she had felt in a very long time, simply just because of him being here. He was the first man in her life since Lincoln who genuinely showed concern for her wellbeing, both physically and mentally. She hadn’t had that in so long. She hadn’t realised until now just how much she’d needed it and missed it.

_Lincoln_. It was strange, but a nice strange, to think back fondly of him now and not feel a stab of unbearable despair or guilt anymore.

The shock and pain of his tragic death years ago had left Daisy completely numb. Lincoln had meant the world to her, and he’d sacrificed himself for her without even knowing that she loved him, and it had broken Daisy into a mere shell. Since then she had forced herself not to feel anything. Feelings only got in the way after all, and she couldn’t go through that pain again, not ever. Caring about someone in that way when you lived this life wasn’t possible anyway; it never boded well for a happy ending, and it only meant you had more to lose. It was better to be detached, better to focus only on the mission at hand and the protection of the team.

Afterwards, Daisy had fought against the burgeoning attraction she’d felt towards Robbie Reyes many months later, because no good would have come of it, and also partly because she had been frightened of forgetting Lincoln and their time together. She had been nowhere near ready to even think about letting anyone else in, and besides, it would have only brought her more pain, more heartbreak. And it just wasn’t worth the risk.

But what if it was now? What if she was ready to open herself up again to something new?

It had been years since she had let herself be emotionally vulnerable around a man. Years since she had been kissed or felt the warm touch of a lover. But Daisy had felt something stir within her when Daniel had taken her in his arms in that barn, something she had thought long buried…and these time loops and Daniel’s speech just now had only helped that feeling grow…and now she sensed it was too late to stop it, even if she’d wanted to. But she didn’t want to stop it, she was stunned to realise. Not at all.

Daniel’s lips parted now as he nervously realised what had just been implied between himself and Daisy with a mere gaze, and he glanced down at the floor, as if wordlessly saying to bookmark the rest of this conversation for later. When he looked back up at her, his eyes still betrayed that he wasn’t very far off from blushing.

‘So,’ he said, ‘what’s this problem you’re trying to crack?’

Daisy smiled warmly at him. How typical of him to move on to another subject just when things were getting interesting. But if anything, this only made her more attracted to him.

They both knew that he had clearly expressed his interest in her, that he had offered to be there for her in whichever way she wanted…and yet he wasn’t asking anything of her or trying anything. He was being respectful, as always, and Daisy knew that if at any time she were to reject him on any level, he would kindly step back and there would be no hard feelings. He had no idea that she liked him back in that way, of course he didn’t – how could he, when Daisy had only just begun to work it out for herself?

She had become so closed off, so far away from who she’d used to be, the playful Skye who would be confident enough to tell a guy she liked him and kiss him there and then on the spot without even thinking about it. Daisy missed being that carefree person sometimes. But she was different now, just as she was different from the person she had been with Lincoln as well. She had known pain, and she had grown and matured into an independent woman. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t _feel_ again. It certainly didn’t mean she had to build up her walls again and shield herself from the one perfect man who had miraculously come into her life after so long, even if one part of her head was telling her it wasn’t worth the chance of getting hurt again. She couldn’t be afraid of that anymore. Being hurt was part of being alive. If she didn’t take that risk, then was she really living?

But that was something for her to address another day; for now, they had a time storm and a deathly vortex to escape, and she had an eager listener waiting to help her find a solution however best he could. It only took Daisy a few minutes to catch Daniel up on their situation, and to her surprise, he didn’t seem quite as panicked by it as she’d felt when she’d woken up for this loop in the chamber.

‘I have an idea. Rather than try and district Enoch, what if I lead him away and trap him somewhere else where he can’t get to you?’ Daniel suggested. ‘The L.M.D. lab, maybe? Then me and the others can hold him off while you, Coulson and Deke get to work on…removing this implant and getting what you need.’

‘But…that would be basically suicide. You won’t be able to beat him,’ Daisy said, concerned. ‘Even with four of you, Enoch is… _insanely_ strong, it’s like he turns into some brutal killing machine.’

‘That’s okay,’ Daniel said airily, ‘as long as we can delay him long enough for you to do your thing-’

‘He might kill you though,’ Daisy protested. ‘I don’t want you putting yourself through that again-’

‘I’ll be dead anyway if we don’t get this sorted. But hey, you’ve gotta promise me – and this goes for this loop and any future loops we have – if you get the answer from Simmons and you have time to fix the time drive before the next reset, just do it,’ Daniel said firmly, getting up from his seat. ‘Don’t wait for the next loop, because we’re not guaranteed one. Like you said, we can’t have many left now.’

Daisy got up from her seat as well, her face torn in conflict. ‘But what if Enoch kills you? For good? If we fix the time drive then the reset won’t happen-’

‘And you’ll all be safe and you’ll all hopefully still exist and the Zephyr will be fine,’ Daniel said, nodding.

‘But you might not be,’ Daisy said in a small voice, and Daniel tilted his head at her.

‘Daisy, I…I’m a latecomer to this party, I’m not-’

‘Don’t say you’re not important because you are. To me,’ Daisy said fiercely, ‘t-to all of us. You’re part of this team now, you’re part of this family.’

Daniel glanced down, touched, and with a soft smile he reached out as if to hold her hand, but then thought better of it at the last minute and leaned away. ‘That…that means a lot, I-’

‘Then no more talk of not waiting for the next reset, okay?’ Daisy said determinedly, and she grabbed both his arms. ‘We’re in this together and I’m not losing anyone in these loops.’

Daniel smiled, enjoying her confidence. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

Thanks to Daniel, the plan seemed to be all set to work extremely well. It went off to a good start; Daniel headed to the medical bay to explain the time loop emergency to Jemma, knowing that Enoch would overhear him asking if they could remove her implant. After telling Jemma to wait so that he could set up the procedure, Daniel then walked away, knowing Enoch would follow him upstairs to the command bridge, and trapped Enoch with himself, Mack, May and Yo-Yo in the L.M.D. lab upstairs to fight. This left Daisy, Coulson and Deke to remove Jemma’s implant downstairs. Daniel and the others knew that they wouldn’t succeed in their fight against Enoch, but it might delay him long enough.

However, although it was working and Daniel and the others were able to hold off Enoch as planned, they had taken too long – or rather, Daisy and Daniel’s heartfelt conversation in the equipment room earlier had taken too long – as the time drive was already whirring, about to reset.

‘Oh, COME ON!’ Daisy yelled in frustration, as the whirring got louder.

‘Next time – same thing, but faster,’ Coulson told her urgently.

Daisy nodded determinedly. Nothing would get in her way of getting this done this time. Not even her newfound feelings for Daniel Sousa. _Nothing_ would get in her way.

*** * ***

She woke with a gasp, and for the first time since these wretched time loops had started, Daisy sensed something that felt a little bit like hope bubbling within her as she pressed the button to open the case and sat up, determined.

_We can do this. There’s still time. We can do this._

Grunting, Daisy scrambled out of the chamber and hopped down onto the floor. Right on cue, Daniel stirred awake; Daisy watched him as he slowly leant his head off the box of medical gloves and looked up at her tiredly, a frown on his face.

‘Hey, what are you doing up?’ he asked.

Strangely, despite hearing him greet her with the same thing over and over again, these were words she had never got fed up of.

Daisy raised her arms up frustratedly; there was no time to explain everything to him. ‘Uh…’ she began helplessly, then she looked at him and saw the expression on his face, the way he looked up at her with such concern and compassion. ‘I need you to do something for me.’

Daniel nodded. ‘Of course,’ he said at once, without question, and he leapt to his feet. ‘Wh-what do you need?’

Daisy opened her mouth to speak, ready to tell him of the plan to lead Enoch astray, but then did a double take and looked at him in surprise. She didn’t know why she was so taken aback. After all, he had been doing the same thing for practically every single loop he had woken up in, always immediately ready to help her with zero hesitation. It dawned on her in that moment just how truly amazing he was.

And then she was met with an impulsive urge to kiss him.

It was crazy, she knew that. But she also knew how he felt, and how that made her feel. For the first time in a very long time, Daisy wanted to do something only for herself.

_Oh, what the hell._

She couldn’t help herself; Daisy closed the distance between them with a few short steps and pressed her lips to his, her hands resting on either side of his neck. She didn’t know what made her do it. She hadn’t been this reckless or wanted to kiss anyone in years. Perhaps she kissed him because she knew that this loop would probably reset, so if he didn’t reciprocate then it didn’t matter because he would forget it anyway. Perhaps she kissed him because in this crazy whirlwind of time storms and Chronicoms and imminent death, Daniel was the only constant, her support, her touchstone, and it made her heart swell. Whatever the reason, it felt right.

Daisy broke apart from him almost just as quickly, her hands still on his open shirt collar and neck, and there was a moment where their eyes lingered on each other’s lips. Unable to resist, Daisy tentatively began to lean in again, and Daniel instantly brought her lips back to his, as if he had been waiting to do that since the moment they’d met. He kissed her deeply, his hands falling to her waist as he pulled her closer to him, and Daisy cupped his cheek with her hand. The second kiss was longer, it was magical, and in that blissful heart-stopping moment Daisy felt as if she might burst with joy.

When they broke apart, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face, and she kept her eyes closed, as if concentrating hard to keep every tiny detail engrained in her memory.

‘That was nice,’ Daisy whispered breathlessly, and a soft chuckle escaped her mouth as she opened her eyes and beamed at him.

In some ways it felt like the kiss had almost been a test. For so long Daisy had wondered if she would be capable of feeling anything truly romantic for someone, beyond that of just a simple crush, ever again. Now she had her answer.

She hadn’t been expecting him to kiss her back like that, with such passion. He was gazing at her now with those smouldering eyes, completely lost for words and utterly dazed, as his eyes drank in every detail of her face. Just seeing him look at her like that made her completely infatuated.

Daniel’s heart was racing fast, not just from that wonderful kiss that had come completely out of nowhere, but from the way she was looking at him. He’d always known that she was attractive, right from the moment he’d met her in his office, but right now, with that adorably happy smile, she had never looked more beautiful.

Could it really be possible? Could she feel the same way about him? He would have thought the idea preposterous before, but now…now he just didn’t know what to think. All he knew was that his heart was racing joyfully, his whole body was tingling, his very being was suddenly filled with hope and possibility, and he had his arms wrapped around the waist of a wonderful woman who had just kissed him.

Daniel’s tender, besotted expression only made Daisy want to embrace him again and kiss him some more. She ever so gently traced his collarbone with her left thumb, her fingers caressing the top of his chest slightly…before remembering that they had an urgent mission.

Her smile faded and her serious mask snapped back on in the blink of an eye; it was back to business. ‘Now we need to trap a space robot,’ she said matter-of-factly, giving Daniel a prompt nod.

Daniel nodded slowly as Daisy then reluctantly removed her hands from his chest and led the way out of the equipment room. Baffled, Daniel slowly turned around and watched her go, his hands still held out slightly from when they’d reached out to grab her waist.

_What just happened?_ he thought to himself, utterly perplexed, as he stepped towards the open door.

Perhaps he was dreaming. That would make more sense. After all, why would Daisy have wanted to kiss _him_? She didn’t really know him that well after all. He wasn’t anything special.

‘You coming?’

Daniel blinked rapidly; Daisy had turned around to face him, looking amused.

‘Y-yeah…’

Daisy grinned as they walked on along the corridor towards the L.M.D. lab. She knew that she had taken a foolish risk in taking those brief twenty seconds or so simply just to lock lips with the man she was now utterly smitten with, but oh well. It had been worth it.

‘Uh, Daisy…?’

Daisy looked around; Daniel had paused in the open doorway of the L.M.D. lab, his lips parted in a dazed smile as he gazed at her in bemusement.

Of course, it was no wonder he was confused – he didn’t know that she knew how he felt about her. The kiss must have seemed so out of the blue for him. As far as he was concerned, that conversation in the equipment room had never happened, nor had any of their other stolen moments together since the time storm had begun. Daisy couldn’t help wondering if they had shared other moments – other intimate conversations, other longing looks, other tender touches, other passionate kisses – in the earlier loops that she couldn’t remember, before she had died. She supposed she would never know. But she wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if they had.

Daisy smiled as she walked right up to him. ‘I’ll explain, but there’s not enough time before the time loop resets and then you’ll forget and I-I don’t want you to forget,’ she said quietly.

‘I don’t understand half of what you just said but…I don’t want to forget either,’ Daniel said, making Daisy’s smile only grow as he stepped even closer to her. ‘So…what can I do?’

‘Well, long story short – the time drive’s messed up, we’re in a time storm and the same events keep repeating over and over again, like a record skipping-’

‘Wait, so…’ Daniel swallowed as he indicated behind them. ‘Back there, that-’

‘No actually, that’s…the first time _that_ happened,’ Daisy replied, her cheeks colouring slightly.

‘I see,’ Daniel said slowly, the look in his eyes almost playful. ‘Nice change for you?’

‘It w-was a…a _very_ nice…’ Daisy trailed off, her hand caressing his bare lower arm tantalisingly as she leaned closer to him, their faces mere inches apart, but then she closed her eyes and stopped. ‘No, we can’t, there’s no time-’

‘Sorry. Carry on,’ Daniel said urgently, leaning away from her slightly as if that would make it easier. ‘The time loop. Or…time storm, or whatever…’

‘Yes! So, to stop it and fix the drive – before we get…pulled into that crazy vortex out there and stop existing – we need to find out what Simmons knows, but she’s got an implant in the back of her neck that’s blocking it,’ Daisy explained in a rush. ‘Enoch’s programmed to protect anyone from getting the implant no matter the cost, so…I need you to lead Enoch away and hold him off with Mack, May and Yo-Yo as long as you can before he can get to me and Coulson and stop us from removing the implant.’

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her and nodded; it didn’t sound _too_ complicated when she put it like that. ‘Hold him off?’

‘He’s a fighter. Scarily good,’ Daisy warned. ‘He’ll…he’ll beat you.’

‘Okay. No problem,’ Daniel said, unconcerned. ‘As long as it buys you enough time.’

‘Okay,’ Daisy said, breathing heavily. ‘I’ll wake Coulson, then he can tell the others to meet you in here – you go downstairs and talk to Simmons about removing the implant. The last time you did that, Enoch overheard and followed you up here and you trapped him.’

Daniel frowned. ‘The last time?’

‘We took too long before, but it _will_ work this time, I know it.’

It _had_ to work. There were no other options left. All their lives were depending on this.

‘Okay. How close are we to…getting pulled into the vortex?’ Daniel asked, knowing already that he would regret the question.

Daisy glanced anxiously at the control panel; they were only a few kilometres away. She turned back to him, her face contorted with fear.

Daniel could tell just from her expression what she meant; nodding determinedly, he turned to head downstairs to the medical bay, but then turned quickly back to her.

‘Hey, wait,’ he murmured, and he drew her in, his hand around her waist, and pressed his lips lightly to her forehead before leaning away and gazing at her. ‘Good luck.’

Daisy had to press her lips together to stop herself from smiling like a giddy lovestruck teenager. ‘You too. I’ll see you soon,’ she said, touching his arm briefly before they parted ways and she dashed over to wake up Coulson.

She wanted so dearly for Daniel to be able to remember what had just happened between them, and there was a chance that he would if they were able to pull this off quickly enough, but at one cost? By trapping himself in a room with Enoch, Daniel and the others would be entering the slaughterhouse. There was no guarantee that any of them would make it out of there safely; Enoch was ruthless when his programming kicked in. She remembered then what Daniel had said to her before in the last loop, how he’d asked her to promise him that they wouldn’t wait for the loop to reset if they got the information from Jemma in time. But how could she do that, knowing that Enoch could easily break Daniel’s neck? She didn’t want to take that chance, no matter how dangerously close to the vortex they were.

By some miracle, and mere determination and good luck, this time Daisy was successfully able to remove the implant from Jemma’s neck with the scanner. Daisy’s relief was tainted by yet more concern as Jemma’s memories came flooding back; if Jemma didn’t have the answers on how to fix the time drive, then all hope was lost. They had about two minutes left to get the answer, and Daisy dreaded to think what Enoch must be doing to Daniel and the others upstairs – she could even hear distant rumbling and smashing from the lab above – but she couldn’t worry about that now and she couldn’t help them. Jemma was the one who needed her most now.

Overwhelmed with knowledge that she’d never known she had, Jemma then tearfully revealed that Enoch was the key – his Electrochron Displacement Mechanism was compatible enough to be used to regulate the energy stability of the time drive. It would work, but at a terrible price; taking the mechanism out would be like removing a Chronicoms’ heart. It would kill Enoch.

To make matters worse, Jemma then began to gasp and cry, completely devastated. Daisy watched in horror as tears poured down her best friend’s cheeks; she was remembering more, her head was being flooded with memories that had been long buried, and she was utterly inconsolable. Daisy and the others tried to comfort her but it was no use. Daisy could barely dread to think what must have happened to Jemma in her time away with Fitz – her sobs were agonising. It was heart-wrenching to watch, and there was nothing Daisy could do other than to stand there helplessly and watch Jemma’s world collapse all around her as the time drive whirred for one final time and –

*** * ***

Jemma’s blood-curdling shriek of ‘NO!’ was still ringing in Daisy’s ears when she woke up back in the healing chamber. She stayed lying there for a moment as the lights scanned away, too shaken by what she had just witnessed to move. Her heart broke for Jemma and whatever she had just been forced to relive, but at least that was over and forgotten now – for Jemma, at least. But it didn’t ease the heavy pain Daisy felt in her chest as she took a deep breath and blinked rapidly to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

She knew what had to be done now. She just didn’t know how to do it.

She lightly tapped the button on the inside of the chamber, and as the glass encasement slid open with a low hiss, Daisy sat up and looked across at Daniel, sleeping there on that stupid chair with his head leant awkwardly against the box of medical gloves. Her heart sank; he would never remember that they had kissed earlier, because it had no longer happened. A sad smile fell on her face as she slowly, quietly eased herself down onto the floor.

_‘Hey, what are you doing up?’_ she wanted to hear him say.

But she couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t wake him and see his tired scrunched-up face look up at her in confusion and concern and ask her what she needed and if she was all right. Not now. They were almost out of time, and one of these loops very soon – if not this one – would be the last. She wasn’t going to risk him getting hurt or killed. She couldn’t.

She tiptoed lightly across the room, but paused beside him as the door slid open. Before she could change her mind, Daisy leant over and pressed her lips to the top his head, and Daniel murmured inaudibly in his sleep, sighing in content. She then turned away and left him lying there peacefully to confront the panic ensuing in the command bridge.

When Daisy found out that they were less than one kilometre away from the vortex, a part of her almost regretting not waking Daniel up – after all, if this didn’t work then there was no reset now, as this was the final loop – but there was no going back now. They didn’t have time. And this was their last shot. As terrible as it was, it was their only option.

Once Daisy had assembled Jemma, Enoch and Deke with herself and Coulson in the L.M.D. lab, she explained their situation. Before they even had time to debate the matter, Enoch had already removed the Electrochron Displacement Mechanism from his chest and handed it over to Jemma and Deke for them to fix the time drive. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the whole team, just as Daisy had always known he would be.

While Jemma and Deke worked on the time drive so that they could fly away from the time storm, a devastated Daisy and Coulson sat down on the floor with Enoch and stayed with him during his last moments. He felt lonely, he said. Daisy wasn’t sure why, but those words were what broke her heart most of all. She had known her fair share of loneliness. She never wanted to feel that again. She wished she could do anything – literally anything – to stop Enoch feeling that way.

‘The team will carry on the mission. We will survive because of you,’ Daisy murmured, trying to comfort him. ‘Thank you.’

But then Enoch said some more words that frightened her deeply.

‘While your friends will indeed survive, the team…will not. I have seen the future. Carry on this mission and cherish it, for it will be your last mission together.’

It sounded almost like a prophecy, and it was one Daisy didn’t care for in the slightest. It couldn’t be true. Whatever he meant, he couldn’t be right. This was her family, this was her home. This couldn’t be their last mission together. Daisy refused to believe it. She would never leave S.H.I.E.L.D. or the team. The universe kept trying to tear them all apart from each other, but no longer. She wouldn’t let it.

Enoch breathed his last breath just as they jumped out of the time storm and away from the vortex. They were safe. Finally.

‘No more time loops,’ Coulson murmured, sounding dazed and deeply forlorn as he rested a hand on Enoch’s shoulder.

Daisy nodded heavily. She felt relieved at that fact, and yet also a little lost. A part of her was worried that she’d become too used to the time loops. She almost couldn’t remember what it was like to carry on about her day and try whatever she could with the promise of a do-over a few minutes later. But now at least she was free. She could live again. They could _all_ live. Thanks to Enoch.

‘I…I can’t believe he’s gone,’ she whispered.

And then they heard footsteps rushing into the L.M.D. lab. Daisy closed her eyes; she knew who it was. Of course she knew.

His eyes fell immediately on Daisy first, as they always did, and he sighed in relief. ‘Hey. I’ve been looking for you everywhere, what are you doing up?’

Daisy looked up at Daniel with tear-filled eyes and a sad smile appeared on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say, thank you to everyone who's still reading this fanfic! It means a lot that people are still reading and leaving such lovely feedback over a week after the series has ended, and if just one person is still enjoying it then it encourages me to keep going with it so thank you so so much for your support :)
> 
> Next chapter should be finished mid-weekish!


	12. Farewell, Enoch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events between Episodes 7x9-7x10 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a filler chapter, as I thought the characters all deserved a bit of a break to rest and recover (I've been trying to work out the time frames in the episodes and they never seem to stop?!) so I thought this point seemed like a good opportunity before the drama gets going in 7x10. Hope you enjoy! And thanks as always for your support and feedback :)

It took a while for Daisy and Coulson to explain to everyone in the team what had happened. The time storm, the deadly vortex pulling them in, the endless circle of the same events repeating themselves over and over, Enoch's sacrifice with the use of his Electrochron Displacement Mechanism to save them all… By the end of their tale, Daisy felt emotionally drained and like she needed a stiff drink, a bit of a cry, and a long sleep – just as long as it wasn't in that healing chamber. But that would have to come later, as there was someone in the team whose need for consolation was far more important than anything else.

Jemma was deeply upset by Enoch's death – or deactivation, whichever way you looked at it. Enoch had been her companion through all this ever since she and Fitz had left to build the time machine, the one to guard her secret, the one to always protect her and Fitz, the one who had travelled across space and time and wasted away decades of his life just for the team. He had been part of Jemma's family. And now he was gone, and Fitz hadn't even had chance to say goodbye. Daisy knew it made Jemma feel the absence of her husband, her soulmate, even more so than usual. Daisy spent a while with Jemma and Deke, struggling to find words of comfort while she tried not to dwell on Enoch's haunting last words to her about this being their last mission together.

Afterwards, once everyone had come to terms with the events of the time storm, they all gathered together and raised a glass to Enoch. After their toast, the team sat back and reminisced about all their crazy times with Enoch, and how it had started with him sending them forward to the year 2091 in order to save the world from branching off into a terrifying alternate timeline. While they were lost in nostalgia, Daniel went to the L.M.D. lab and carried Enoch's body to a nearby table, where he laid him down. He didn't hear Daisy as she emerged in the open doorway and watched him lay a sheet over Enoch. But then he heard her small intake of breath and his expression softened the moment he turned around and saw her, her eyes swimming with tears as she gazed over at him fondly.

'Are you okay?' Daniel asked her quietly.

It was a silly question, but he didn't know what else to say. She had evidently been through a hell of a lot during those time loops, and even though she had successfully saved them all from the time storm, it had come with a price. A price Enoch had been more than willing to pay, but one that Daniel knew would weigh heavy on Daisy's heart for quite some time to come.

'Yeah,' Daisy replied heavily. 'I'm okay.'

Daniel nodded; he understood her tone and expression to mean that she had become accustomed to loss and grief plenty of times. He knew just as well as she from his time during the war that it never got easier…you just got better at learning how to live with it.

Realising that she wanted a few moments alone with Enoch's body, Daniel then walked back towards the door. He paused beside her briefly and rested his hand on her shoulder. Closing her eyes, Daisy reached her hand up to cover his, grateful for the comfort of his touch, and Daniel felt a strange sense of familiarity with the way she did it, as if the normal boundaries of physical touch or affection did not apply to them. And then the moment had passed and he had walked away, leaving Daisy to bid her farewell to the most loyal Chronicom the world had ever known.

*****

The hours passed somewhat slowly while the team waited for the Zephyr to jump to the 21st century. They kept checking in at the command bridge and looking up at the screen hopefully, expecting a countdown to start. But it never did.

Throughout the course of the day, Daniel made the most of this rare respite to talk to the team members, explore the Zephyr, and read the files and reports on present-day S.H.I.E.L.D. that Coulson had given him so that he could catch up on everything he had missed since 1955. The team could sense that he was beginning to relax into things and warm up to them all, which was nice to see. They were all still quite astounded by how well he seemed to be taking everything in his stride.

Daniel's job at S.H.I.E.L.D. had been his life; after his relationship with Peggy had ended, he had accepted that he would never settle down for a family life, and so he had focussed entirely on SSR and S.H.I.E.L.D. He had fought against the prejudices he had faced for his disability and worked hard to gain confidence in his capabilities, to appreciate his own value, and to climb the ranks and become Chief of the West Coast Division. 1955 had never known a more devoted agent.

But then he had been ripped from his timeline and taken away from all the people he knew and loved. He had been brought into a new team from the future and subsequently degraded to not just a regular agent without authority, but the newbie with no experience and no knowledge of what they were dealing with. But worst of all, he had been told that HYDRA, everything that he had fought so hard against, would remain in S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades to come…and that they simply had to keep it that way. That had devastated Daniel, more so than anything else. Daisy wondered now if that was perhaps why he had been so serious and forlorn initially during his first couple of days with the team…not that she could blame him. The knowledge that HYDRA would successfully infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., and that they could do nothing to stop it, had broken his heart.

And yet there was no resentment. Even in his new inferior position and with his conflicting feelings about how to deal with HYDRA, Daniel had not once questioned anyone's authority since waking up on the Zephyr to his new life, nor had he tried using his own role as Chief to take control or claim he ranked higher than anyone on this team. Daisy could see immediately that he had high admiration for Mack as the Director; he was formal and respectful around him, and stepped into his new role with perfect grace, giving his all to do whatever he could to help as much as possible. He had been a good leader back in the fifties – that alone was clear from his file and the many stories and reports Daisy had heard or read about from those who had been lucky enough to work with or for him – but here he was equally as good at following orders and stepping back to be part of the team, to respect the skills, knowledge and experience of these new strangers he had found himself with.

Even now, Daniel was slowly beginning to accept the inevitability of HYRA's rise within S.H.I.E.L.D., and to value the rules of preserving the timeline. It made him appreciate the fact even more that Mack, Coulson, Daisy and the others had gone to such lengths and broken those rules to save his life. HYDRA would destroy the agency he loved one day…but then S.H.I.E.L.D. would only come back fighting stronger than ever. Daniel could be sure of that now because of this team of wonderful people he was lucky to be with. If these people embodied what was to come for S.H.I.E.L.D., then surely the future wasn't something he needed to worry about.

After numerous impatient questions on what was taking the time drive so long and many speculative discussions, Jemma and Deke eventually came to the conclusion that the time drive must have stopped communicating with Fitz for some reason. Apparently, all this time Fitz had been programming in their destinations and controlling the Zephyr's movements to follow the Chronicoms whenever they jumped – or so they believed, anyway. They didn't understand why Fitz hadn't programmed them to jump home yet, but Mack tried to focus on the positive side of this; they weren't done with the mission in 1983 yet. They still needed to work out the right course of action for dealing with the person who should no longer be alive who was out there causing havoc to the timeline: Nathaniel Malick. Besides, they couldn't just leave Jiaying, Gordon and any captured Inhumans from Afterlife abandoned and at Malick's mercy. But for now, while they worked out the best course of action, Mack insisted to the team that they all needed to take some time out for their own wellbeing, to mourn and recover. They had barely had a chance to stop and take a breath ever since they had been in the fifties, after all.

While the team split up to go over plans or get some rest in their bunks or watch some TV in the living space Jemma had created, Daniel headed over to the small kitchen to heat up some soup from one of the many cans stored in the cupboard; he had been ravenous all day. After ten minutes of trying to remember Yo-Yo's demonstration from yesterday on how to use the microwave, Daniel intended to take his bowl away to the peace and quiet of his bunk, to see if he could try to get some more sleep…but then he noticed a light on in the corner of the room. He peered around and saw that Daisy was curled up on one of the soft leather chairs, munching away with a packet of crisps balanced precariously in her arms as she read a book.

A soft smile appeared on Daniel's face as he watched her. She looked particularly young when her brow wasn't furrowed with stress or worry. Exhaling deeply, Daniel then walked over towards her.

'Hey. Mind if I join?' he asked gently, indicating the leather seat opposite her.

Heart leaping, Daisy smiled as she removed her earphones. 'Sure,' she said, and her lips twitched at the confused look on Daniel's face as he sat down with his bowl of soup. 'They're earphones – they play music.'

'Wow,' Daniel breathed, in awe, and she chuckled softly. 'How are you doing anyway?'

'I'm…I'm okay, you know,' she replied, putting down her book. 'Just…still find it weird not being sent back to the healing chamber every few minutes.'

'It sounds…well, I'm glad Coulson was experiencing the time loops with you as well,' Daniel said, frowning, 'it must have been really traumatic to go through.'

'It…it was. But…there was some good stuff thrown in too,' Daisy said, before she had time to think about it, and she quickly averted her gaze and dug into her crisps so that she could hide the slight smile on her face.

It was strange that she had to keep reminding herself that everything that had happened between them yesterday…their conversations…his heart-swelling speech…their kiss…had no longer really happened. They were just a memory to her, a blissful memory, a happy memory, but Daniel had no recollection of them at all. They were merely stolen moments, as if from a dream. They didn't feel real anymore. They didn't feel like they could happen.

'A-and we survived,' Daisy added, and her face fell slightly. 'Just…not all of us.'

Daniel had been about to tuck into his soup but paused then, looking sad. 'I'm sorry about Enoch. He kept checking on me when I was settling in, while you were in the chamber after we got back from the barn. He was a good man…well, a good robot,' he said, looking a little awkward; was it appropriate to refer to Enoch as a 'robot', or was that insensitive? He wasn't sure on the etiquette with such matters yet.

Daisy smiled. 'He really was. What have you been up to anyway? You manage to get any more sleep?' she asked.

'I tried but…couldn't. I've been getting to know the others a bit…had more of a look around this incredible place,' Daniel replied, sipping his soup. 'Oh, and I found your file on me.'

'Huh?'

'Guessing it's the one you memorised just before we met at Area 51,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her, and Daisy smirked.

'Ooh. That. Yeah, sorry.'

'So…you know everything about my history with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the SSR, seems only fair you tell me about yours,' Daniel said, almost challengingly.

'Okay,' Daisy said slowly, holding out her packet of crisps to offer him one; Daniel took one with a smile. 'Though I may have to give you the short version, it'd take literally days for me to tell you everything.'

'Well I'm not going anywhere,' Daniel pointed out, and Daisy smiled at the way his words made her heart race. 'So…how did this all start for you? How did you join S.H.I.E.L.D.?'

'Uh…well, Coulson found me when I was about twenty-five so it was, what, around seven years ago now and I was…kind of living on my own in a van working as a hacker,' Daisy began, pulling a face as she realised how ridiculous it sounded, and her lips twitched as she watched his expression. 'And you have no idea what that is, do you?'

'W-well…not really…' Daniel admitted, as he carried on making a conscious effort not to spill his soup in front of her.

'It doesn't really matter. Basically Coulson saved me,' Daisy said, her tone almost wistful. 'He…gave me a purpose and a family. And S.H.I.E.L.D…it became my life.'

Daniel smiled; he could relate to that feeling. 'Did you already have your powers when Coulson recruited you?' he asked, interested.

'Ha, no. That came later,' Daisy said, and she exhaled deeply; she hadn't talked about this in a long time. 'About a year after I joined the team…on a mission, I-I went through something called Terrigenesis. Um, so there are these things called Terrigen Crystals, and I was near one and it exposed me to this mist that…sort of, I don't know, cocooned me in stone or something…and then when I came out of it, I had these powers. My DNA changed and…yeah, it was a pretty crazy time.'

Daniel had apparently forgotten about the spoon of soup held out in his hand; he had paused and was staring at her with wide eyes, amazed. 'H-how is that possible?'

'Because I have Inhuman genes, from my mom's side,' Daisy replied. 'The powers were always in me, it's just…the crystal, the mist…it activated them.'

'Inhuman genes?'

Daisy's face fell slightly; this was the part she was afraid to tell him. 'Um…so Inhumans are, like…well, there's an extra-terrestrial race out there called the Kree, and they…wel, they used to experiment on humans and tried to change their genetic code so they could develop these superpowers, or whatever, and use them as weapons. That's when they came up with the process through the Terrigen crystals. Inhumans are…the result of that,' she explained heavily. 'And that's why Afterlife was formed…to help those people with their powers.'

Daniel nodded slowly, and put his spoon back in the bowl. 'So…'

'So…it's no super serum, like you thought,' Daisy said, and she swallowed uncomfortably as she forced herself to tell him the truth. 'I just have Kree blood running through my veins.'

There was a pause as Daniel took it all in. He looked quite overwhelmed. Daisy watched him anxiously.

'Wow,' was all Daniel could say, and then, with a dazed shake of his head, he returned to his soup.

Daisy stared at him, perplexed. 'That's…alien blood,' she said pointedly.

'Yeah, that's…it's incredible.'

Daisy shuffled forward in her seat towards him, knocking the packet of crisps to the floor; she barely noticed. 'That doesn't freak you out?'

'Uh…no, I don't think so. Should it?' Daniel asked, frowning.

'I…I don't know. Probably not,' Daisy said bemusedly. 'It's just…'

'What?'

Daisy laughed softly. 'I've just told you about a whole altered race of humans with superpowers that came about from alien experimentation – that's, you know, _aliens_ – and you're just…sitting there, eating soup.'

'It's good soup,' Daniel said defensively, returning her smile, but then he frowned slightly. 'Must have been hard for you, at first. After the Terrimist.'

'Terrigenesis,' Daisy corrected him, trying not to smile, 'and…it was. It…I couldn't control it at first, I kept…causing earthquakes and…I was so scared of hurting people. But when I went to Afterlife…I learnt how to control it, and…accept it. And now I wouldn't change it. It's who I am.'

'That's good,' Daniel said encouragingly, taking another sip of his soup. 'That…that makes me happy.'

Daisy's lips parted slightly as she gazed over at him. 'Why?' she asked softly.

Daniel kept his eyes fixated on his soup when he answered. 'Just because…I think you should be proud of who you are and what you can do, and…you deserve to be happy with it.'

There was a pause as Daisy watched him. She didn't know what to think or say. She could only think of that equipment room…the way he had kissed her back and held her waist…

' _Some of my favourite people are people like you…' … 'When people like you run into those walls, you should have someone there to pick you back up…'_

Daniel suddenly felt very self-conscious as he continued to eat his soup, and eventually he could take it no longer and he stopped as he looked up and met her gaze. Her eyes betrayed a world of emotions.

She sat up slightly in her seat, a little nervous. 'Sousa, I…I'm really glad you're here. And I'm glad we're friends,' she said. 'But…I've got a lot of baggage. I've been in some…really dark places.'

Daniel nodded slowly. 'So have I,' he said, but then he frowned. 'Wait…is that you trying to scare me away?'

'Is it working?' Daisy asked, already knowing the answer.

'Nope,' Daniel said, and Daisy's eyebrow and lips twitched. ''Cause I'm glad we're friends too. I think I'd be a bit lost if…'

He trailed off as he put his empty bowl down, looked back at her sat across from him. He wondered how he would have felt if he'd been pulled out of the timeline and brought onboard to join this team, but Daisy hadn't been there. He liked the others, he got on quite well with all of them considering their limited time actually being able to speak properly to one another, but he didn't really know many of them _that_ well yet. He hadn't struck up an instant connection with any of them like he had with Daisy. Without her here, would he have felt lonely? Would he have found someone else to bond with; Coulson, perhaps, or Simmons? Would he have even wanted to stay with them on this thrilling albeit terrifying adventure on the Zephyr, or would he have chosen to stay behind in the seventies after all?

Daisy was fascinated as she watched him get lost in thought. She wished she could know what he was thinking…although, it wasn't too hard to guess. She already knew what he was _feeling_.

' _You like to…be that…someone?'_

' _Not for everyone.'_

A smile broke out on Daniel's face as he looked back up at Daisy. 'Seems like months ago since you broke into my office.'

'Uh, I did _not_ break in, all right?'

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'Oh I'm sorry, did I invite you there?'

Daisy faltered for a moment, taken aback; his sense of humour had only become more pronounced since he'd started adjusting to life beyond 1955, and that wasn't doing her any favours when she was trying to get her new, alarming feelings under some sort of control for now.

'I…I _snuck_ in, okay, there's a difference,' Daisy said with a smirk, and he tilted his head at her.

'If you say so.'

She chuckled softly. 'You were so pissed off.'

'I really was,' Daniel murmured.

The way he smiled and looked up at her then was just like he had done in the equipment room in the time loops; it hit Daisy vividly, and took her breath away.

' _That is…_ awfully _specific.'_

' _Mm-hmm.'_

Their lingering gaze was then broken as a whistling Deke came sauntering into the room. He paused slightly as he looked at Daisy and her new best pal, lost in conversation and in each other. Deke paused a little, feeling a lump rise in his throat. He envied Sousa; he'd only walked onto this ship five minutes ago and yet Daisy was already clearly smitten. In fact, Deke had suspected as much from the moment he'd seen her grab Sousa's file and gaze at his photograph in wonder, just before she'd ventured out to the Area 51 base to introduce herself to him as a CIA agent. Jealousy was an old friend of Deke's, however this strange sensation he was feeling was new; it was tinged with something that felt bizarrely like happiness. He hadn't seen Daisy's face break out in a smile like that.

'Hey, Deke,' Daisy said, looking up at him, and she frowned slightly. 'Is there any change?'

'Uh…no,' Deke replied awkwardly. 'Still no change. I'll check again later. Knowing our luck, it'll probably start counting down while we're all in bed.'

He glanced at Daniel; Daniel smiled and nodded politely at Deke, having not had much chance to get to know him yet as much as the others – Deke seemed to have somehow evaded Daniel during his solo tour of the Zephyr today. Deke swallowed and nodded back at Daniel, then flashed a brief smile at Daisy before walking away to leave them to it.

Daniel glanced at Daisy; her face had fallen.

He sighed. 'We're not gonna jump anytime soon, are we?' he asked.

'Doesn't seem that way, no,' Daisy replied heavily, leaning back in her seat and resting her head in her hand.

'Hey,' Daniel murmured, and she looked up at him. 'Not all hope's lost yet. It may get back to normal again. You'll get back home.'

Daisy smiled. 'This…this ship is my home, really. The Zephyr, or…whichever base we're at. I guess it doesn't really matter what time period I'm in…as long as I'm with everyone here,' she said, and she blinked rapidly as Enoch's prophecy began to run through her mind again; she shook her head. 'Eh, it'll be okay. I just…I don't want Enoch to have died for nothing, you know?'

'He didn't. He saved us all,' Daniel said gently. 'Without him, we wouldn't have got out of that time storm. You'd have been stuck in those loops forever until we got pulled into the vortex.'

Daisy nodded slowly, deep in thought. 'It wasn't just Enoch, you know,' she murmured. 'We couldn't have done it without you either.'

Daniel gave her a questioning look, confused. There was an emotional look in her smile and in her gaze that he couldn't quite understand.

'Every time I woke up in those loops, you were there for me,' Daisy said, and her voice shook ever so slightly. 'You helped me work the problem. You risked your life, I-I lost count how many times. You…well…thank you. Really.'

Daniel's lips parted; her sincerity touched him deeply. 'Anytime. I just…wish I could remember it,' he said, and a small, almost sad smile flickered momentarily on Daisy's face.

'So do I.'

There was a silence as they simply looked at each other, and then Daniel swallowed and looked at his wrist, even though there was no watch there. He got up off his seat.

'Anyway, w-we should…probably get to bed,' he said, but then he grimaced, mortified, and hastily added, 'I-I mean our own…separate beds. In our bunks.'

'Yup,' Daisy said, trying not to grin as she rose from her seat too and nodded at him. 'I got what you meant.'

'Good,' Daniel said with a nod, and they both exchanged an awkward smile.

'I…I hope you're able to sleep okay tonight,' Daisy said. 'You look like you need it.'

Daniel frowned. 'Well I know I don't look so great right now but I'm not _that_ bad, am I?'

'No. You're not that bad at all,' Daisy murmured, and there was a slight pause as they looked at each other.

'Right. Good,' Daniel said, feeling a little tingly but mainly confused; why did she keep looking at him like that? 'Well…goodnight, then.'

''Night, Sousa.'

He bent down to pick up his empty bowl and her packet of crisps to take back to the kitchen, then turned back to her. 'And hey, if you ever need to talk about…Enoch or the time loops or Malick or…well, anything…I'm here,' he offered.

Daisy smiled softly; little did he know just how much she knew that. 'I know. Thank you,' she said. 'And, same to you – if ever this whole crazy future…time-travel…situation gets too much, then…you know where to find me.'

Daniel nodded, feeling a surge of hope as the warmth flooded through him. 'Thank you, Daisy. Appreciate it. Goodnight.'

'Goodnight.'

That night Daisy was incredibly restless as she tried to get to sleep. Her bunk was so much comfier than that wretched healing chamber, and she was so very exhausted, but there was nothing she could do about her racing heart and whirling mind. Whenever she closed her eyes, she was back in that equipment room.

' _I need you to do something for me.'_

' _Of course. What do you need?'_

She couldn't stop thinking about the way Daniel had looked at her, confused, after she'd first kissed him…how he'd chased after her lips and squeezed her waist tightly against him as he'd kissed her back in an almost desperate way that made Daisy suspect he'd been wanting to do that for a while…how he'd gazed at her afterwards with those smouldering yet tender eyes, as if he couldn't quite believe she was real…

'Ugh, get a grip,' Daisy muttered to herself, as she stared up at the ceiling and listened to the low hum of the Zephyr's engine.

She knew that Daniel was lying in a bunk not too far away from hers. She wondered if he was struggling to sleep as well…but no, she mustn't think about that. The timing wasn't right, and there were far more pressing issues that her mind should really be working on…namely one particular person in 1983 who was in danger from the man who had tortured her in the barn…but she wasn't emotionally ready to face that just yet.

She would think about Jiaying in the morning. For now, she could simply enjoy daydreaming about the equipment room, and how it had suddenly come to be her favourite location on the entire Zephyr ship.


	13. The Lighthouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x10 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

The next morning, having accepted that they were seemingly stuck in the eighties for now, the team decided to lie low at the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. base that wasn't currently being used: the Lighthouse, back in Lake Ontario. No-one seemed to be that enthusiastic about this prospect, other than perhaps Daniel; he was still spellbound by the Zephyr, but was grateful that they would be getting a change of scenery, particularly after the multiple complex near-death experiences they'd faced inside this vessel as a result of the time drive malfunctions over the past few days. Besides, he was intrigued to see what other bases future S.H.I.E.L.D. had on offer.

Once they had all showered and dressed – or in Coulson's case, charged up, which Daniel was still struggling to make sense of but had decided that it was simply easier to just go with it – everyone began packing up their belongings to take with them down to the base. Daniel didn't have many items to pack, given that he had been pulled abruptly from his own time without any prior warning, but had enough clothes and toiletries that Jemma and Enoch had provided him with to fill one of the duffel bags.

He was just about to zip up the bag when he heard a tap on the wall; he turned around to see Daisy, stood there by his bunk with a large bag hung over her shoulder. She was looking almost fully recovered now, and she'd put on some make-up and her hair was looking particularly luscious, smooth and shiny as it fell down her shoulders in gentle waves. She was wearing a tightly-fitted jacket made of black leathery material; it was unusual, but of course Daniel supposed that 21st-century fashion must seem unusual to him. The look suited her.

'Hey. Nice jacket,' Daniel greeted.

'Thanks. Is that…another blue shirt?' Daisy asked, smiling.

'Uh, yeah,' Daniel replied, self-consciously smoothing down the new shirt. 'There were quite a few in the closet Simmons showed me, and…well, I like the colour.'

Daisy had wondered at first if he had specifically chosen another one of those shirts because of her comment about how much she liked him in it, but then was forced to remind herself that that had been during one of the time loops, so he wouldn't remember that comment at all.

She was worried that sometime soon she would completely forget that the events of the time loops hadn't happened for him, and she would suddenly become over-familiar or physically affectionate towards him and it would freak him out. It was strange for her to wrap her head around the fact that they were both at different stages now; it felt almost dishonest not to tell him the truth about what had happened, but she was scared. Because this was no time loop. There was no resetting. Once it was out in the open, there was no going back. And Daisy just didn't know if she was ready for that yet.

'May just said we're about to land, anyway. You got everything?' Daisy asked.

'Uh, yeah…about everything I own,' Daniel replied, and he picked up the last item to pack from his bed – a toothbrush.

Daisy stared at him holding out the toothbrush for a moment and then started laughing; the sound alarmed Yo-Yo as she and Mack approached, unnoticed by either of them.

'C'mon, I know Simmons and Enoch left you more stuff than that,' Daisy said, amused.

Daniel chuckled. 'Yeah they did, I'm all packed here,' he said, perplexed but pleased that she had found his poor attempt at a joke funny.

She shook her head wearily at him. 'You're such a dork.'

Daniel frowned as he packed up the toothbrush and zipped up his bag. 'Is that a good thing or a bad thing?' he asked, and Daisy grinned.

Yo-Yo and Mack raised their eyebrows at each other as they walked past the pair to fetch their own belongings.

Mack jerked his head back in Daisy and Daniel's direction as he gave Yo-Yo a knowing look. 'Do you think those two…?'

Yo-Yo looked sceptical. 'He's cute, but I don't think he's Daisy's type,' she replied, shrugging. 'He's too old-school.'

'Eh, I think she might surprise you. Twenty bucks?' Mack said, and Yo-Yo sniggered.

'You're on, Turtle-man.'

Oblivious, Daniel and Daisy soon followed Yo-Yo and Mack with their duffel bags to head downstairs to the loading bay. Daisy felt a little nervous as they walked down the narrow corridor side-by-side, Daniel making sure to step back and allow Daisy to go first like the perfectly polite gentleman he was. She had no idea why and she felt almost a little annoyed with herself because of it; she had never been the kind of person to let a man make her feel nervous or giddy. It was a very surreal sensation.

'Did you get much sleep last night anyway?' she asked him, trying to sound casual.

'Not at all,' Daniel replied wearily. 'You?'

'Nope.'

They had both been kept up by thoughts of each other…wondering if the other was still awake…wondering what the other was feeling…wondering what was ahead of them…

Daniel supposed it was only natural that their time-travelling excursions would make him think about what the future had in store for him, now that he was what Coulson termed 'an anomaly', who was meant to be dead but had been given a new life. But he hadn't been expecting to wonder so much about what the future had in store for Daisy as well…if there was a possibility that perhaps they could face the unknown of the 21st century together…But no, of course, he was silly to think like that. They had only known each other for a week, and it was ridiculous to assume that a woman like Daisy could ever reciprocate his feelings. He knew that…and _yet_ …the way she had spoken to him and looked at him since the aftermath of the time storm kept playing on his mind.

_What happened in those time loops?_ he'd wondered all last night while he tossed and turned in his bunk.

He would have to ask her properly one day. But not right now. Today, they had more urgent matters to deal with.

Daniel jumped out of his reverie just as Coulson emerged from the direction of the L.M.D. lab.

'Morning, guys,' he greeted them cheerfully.

'Morning,' Daniel said, just as May announced to them via comms that she would shortly be beginning the landing procedure. 'So…this is the base Daisy set up the security feed link to in '76, right?'

'Yup. Most secure underground bunker in the world,' Coulson replied. 'I mean, literally. It survived the end of the world.'

Daniel stared at him, perplexed. 'Wh-when did the world end? Did I miss that?'

'It's a long story,' Daisy said heavily.

'Aren't they all?' Daniel muttered; he caught Daisy's eye and her lips twitched.

Watching them both carefully, Coulson then slowed to a stop. 'I'll…join you guys later, I'll wait for the others. You two go ahead,' he insisted.

'Oh, uh, okay.'

Daisy looked suspiciously back at Coulson as she and Daniel carried on down the hallway towards the stairs; Coulson wiggled his eyebrows at her as he watched them go. Flushing furiously, Daisy turned back with a roll of her eyes and walked on. She kept forgetting that Coulson had been with her during all the loops – even the ones she couldn't remember – and watched as she'd grown closer to Daniel with each reset.

'So…how are you feeling about Malick?' Daniel asked her tentatively, as they made their way downstairs.

'I…I feel like I wanna take him down,' Daisy said determinedly, and Daniel nodded.

'That makes two of us.'

'Good. But first we gotta figure out what his agenda is. He took over Afterlife, so…I'm guessing he's wanting to take as many Inhuman powers as he can,' Daisy said anxiously.

'He's gonna do to others what he did to you,' Daniel realised, horrified; he knew he would be haunted by the memory of Daisy in that barn for the rest of his life.

'But he's had months to do it since he first arrived at Afterlife,' Daisy said, and she came to a stop and dropped her bag on the floor as they reached the loading bay, her face torn with concern. 'Wh-what if it's too late to stop whatever he's got planned?'

'No, I don't believe that. And I know you don't either,' Daniel said, his tone firm and encouraging as he fixed her with that reassuring gaze of his. 'This team is the most…determined bunch of people I've ever met. You all never give up. You won't stop until the problem is solved.'

Daisy's frown disappeared as she looked at him. 'No wonder you fit in so well with us then,' she said, and Daniel smiled softly, touched by her words.

Jemma then joined them in the loading bay, carrying a large box filled with equipment, and once they had landed, the three of them left the Zephyr and took the elevator to the bottom levels of the Lighthouse base together. Deke and Mack's friends from 1983 were there at the base to greet them, having got everything in the control room up and running for the new arrivals, before making preparations to depart for the Academy and continue their training as official S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Mack was still held up at the Zephyr with a few of the others, but told them all via the comms to unpack and get settled in while Deke did final checks on the time drive in the Zephyr. They were to then regroup in about an hour to discuss their next move.

Daisy was exhausted and desperate to catch up on some sleep – though she made an effort not to show it – but Daniel's face had lit up in amazement the moment they entered the Lighthouse, and she didn't want to miss this. It was fun watching an outsider's reaction to things that she and the rest of the team had begun to take for granted. As they carried their belongings down to the main floor where the bedrooms were, Daisy led them on a detour to briefly show Daniel the main control room. The whole time, as he looked around dazedly, he kept saying, 'wow'. Daisy wasn't sure why, as the Zephyr's technology was far more advanced than the eighties' disappointing set-up they had going on here, but it was adorable to watch.

They then headed down one of the many grey, dingy corridors to make a stop at one of the lab rooms so that Jemma could deposit her many tools and appliances. Daniel pushed open the door, and the lights flickered on to reveal the very basic medical lab that Jemma had thought she would never see again.

His jaw dropped as he stepped through into the room. 'Wow,' he breathed again, amazed by the look of the tech and equipment.

He was surprised to see that neither Daisy or Jemma shared his enthusiasm; they both simply sighed deeply, completely indifferent, as they entered the lab.

Daniel raised his eyebrows as the two women walked through. 'Well consider _me_ impressed,' he said, as Jemma put down her box of equipment. 'A multi-story base under a lighthouse?!'

'Yeah, we've just spent a _lot_ of time down here so maybe we're…over it,' Daisy replied, looking around almost bitterly at the place; it wasn't exactly like they had the best memories of being stuck down here.

She glanced at Daniel, then turned back to Jemma, who seemed to be trying to keep herself busy as she unpacked her equipment from the box.

'Any idea why the new countdown didn't start after we fixed the drive?' Daisy asked her, frowning.

Jemma sighed. 'Huh…the Electrochron Displacement Mechanism did stabilise it, but it is possible the cumulative damage severed our operative transmission receivers' ability to penetrate space-time,' she explained.

Daniel stared at her, before nearing towards Daisy from behind. 'Did you understand that?' he murmured to her, dazed.

'Actually yes, I did,' Daisy replied thoughtfully, surprised by her genuine answer, as she nodded.

Daniel pulled a face as she turned to face him. 'I'm gonna grab some rest,' he said, overwhelmed.

'Uh, the bunks are down that way,' Daisy told him, pointing to the right, and he nodded.

'Can I take that off your hands?' Daniel offered, gesturing the heavy duffel bag dangling from Daisy's shoulder.

'Um…I got it, thanks,' Daisy replied casually, a little flustered, as Jemma looked around at them both with beady eyes and a hint of a smile.

'Just…thought I'd put some weight on the new leg, is all,' Daniel said, trying not to make a big deal of it, as he gazed at her with those bewitching eyes of his.

Daisy hesitated for a moment, then slowly removed her bag from her shoulder. 'Oo-kay,' she said slowly, smiling bemusedly at him. 'Thank you.'

He reached out and took her bag with a cock of his eyebrow, and Daisy could tell from that certain smile on his face and the glint in his eyes that he was secretly very pleased.

She wasn't sure why she still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he was attracted to her. She could vividly remember the way he'd looked at her that day in his office at Area 51, the way his lips had twitched, his captivated gaze. There had been a spark there between them from the moment they'd met, but Daisy had been too blind – or perhaps too scared – to see it.

Dazed, Daisy turned to watch Daniel leave, his stride confident and agile in those well-fitting modern clothes as he walked out of the room with those two heavy bags. Her lips curved at one end as she gazed at the spot where he'd disappeared, her heart beating quicker than normal. Even after the time loops, she still couldn't get used to it. Someone looking out for her, doing menial little favours that meant nothing and yet for some reason also meant a lot. Daniel liked to take the weight off her shoulders, in every sense of the phrase.

Lost in a daydream, Daisy slowly turned back to face Jemma, only to see that she was smiling at her with a knowing look.

Daisy froze in horror. _Shit._

She hadn't expected to be caught out on this so soon.

Trying to recover her expression, Daisy raised her eyebrows at Jemma. 'Wh-what?' she asked, trying to appear clueless.

'Say what you will about the fifties,' Jemma said, smirking, 'at least he doesn't know chivalry is dead.'

Mortified, Daisy looked away and inhaled sharply, not knowing what to say. Her arms were folded; Jemma knew she always did that whenever she was trying to hide something. But she wasn't hiding this very well at all.

Shaking her head as if in denial, Daisy glanced up at Jemma, hesitating for a moment. She was half tempted to tell her what was really going on in her mind…what she really thought of Daniel Sousa. But then she chickened out at the last minute.

'Okay, _anyway_ ,' she said pointedly, desperate to change the subject.

She began to talk to Jemma about the implant, and Jemma's concerningly devastated reaction once the implant had been removed in the time loops, but before they could talk more about what that could possibly mean, Mack then summoned them both to the control room.

They found the others in there discussing their current situation – Coulson and Mack had just found out that the Triskelion was already being used for S.H.I.E.L.D., years ahead of schedule, just like Project Insight. Coulson may have destroyed the Chronicoms back in 1976 – or most of them, anyway – but the timeline was still falling apart and they needed to put it back.

Nathaniel Malick was out there with Quake powers, a new base, and a slowly-increasing army of Inhumans where he had taken control of Afterlife. Leaving him unleashed in the 1980s could have irreparable consequences, and they needed to protect his hostages, as well as two of his targets: Jiaying and Gordon.

Before Daisy could fully comprehend what was happening, Mack was asking Jemma to send Jiaying the coordinates to her and Gordon's location so that Gordon could teleport them to the Lighthouse. Daisy wasn't comfortable with the idea of Jiaying being brought here, but everyone wanted to protect Daisy's existence, and they all knew that Jiaying was in danger. Coulson proposed that they minimize what they tell Jiaying and not tell her anything about who they were, what the future had in store, or who Daisy really was, but Daisy found this far from reassuring.

Before they had time to debate the matter any further, Jiaying and Gordon had already teleported into the control room.

It shocked Daisy terribly to see her mother stood there, right in front of her. She didn't look any younger from when Daisy had last seen her – because of course, she didn't age – but her face wasn't covered in scars this time. Of course…this was before HYDRA had ruined Jiaying's life. It felt like a knife to the heart as Daisy was suddenly hit with brutal mental images of the last time she'd seen Jiaying, as vivid as if it had been yesterday…Jiaying's hand around her throat, willing to drain the life out of her own daughter…before Daisy's father had killed her.

Daisy had tried to forget it. She had failed dismally; that day still haunted her in her nightmares, amongst many other things. And now she couldn't escape it, no matter how hard she tried. Jiaying was stood right there, completely oblivious to the pain and destruction she would cause in a few decades' time.

Daisy watched without really seeing as Jiaying anxiously expressed her need to get her people protection from Malick and his followers. Once Daisy had explained how Malick was trying to steal Inhuman gifts, it was decided that Gordon should teleport Mack, Yo-Yo, and Coulson to Afterlife in order to rescue the hostages, leaving Jiaying behind at the Lighthouse for her own safety. Jiaying wanted to go with them, determined to get one of the Inhumans called Kora back from Malick's grasp; he had manipulated her into believing his cause.

That was when Daisy found out that this Kora was in fact Jiaying's daughter.

A horrified silence met this revelation. Daisy didn't know how to process it, not at all. She looked around the room, searching for Daniel's comforting gaze, only to remember that he was resting in his bunk.

_I have a sister._ How _do I have a sister?_

Once the team had split up to proceed with the plan, Daisy followed May out into the corridor to confront her, knowing that she and Yo-Yo had kept her sister's existence a secret from her. It turned out that the timeline had changed; Kora had intended to kill herself after losing control of her dangerous powers, which May suspected was what had happened in the original timeline, but in this altered timeline Malick had prevented her suicide and recruited her. A part of Daisy felt almost delighted at this fact – after all, her biological parents had proved to be a disappointment in her desperate search for her family when she'd first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., but perhaps Kora's miraculous existence was a blessing in disguise – but then May informed her that Kora was volatile, committed to Malick, and had even tried to kill Jiaying.

Restless and filled with anxiety, Daisy wanted to go with Mack and the others to free the prisoners at Afterlife – she needed to be busy, she needed to be doing something useful, she needed to keep her mind focussed on a mission – but Mack insisted that Daisy and Jiaying were Malick's most wanted, and so had to stay here at the Lighthouse for their own protection.

Unable to cope, Daisy left Jiaying on her own; Jemma understood and rose to the occasion at once, heading to the control room so that she could take Jiaying to one of the free bedrooms at the far end of the level to rest in.

_She can't hurt you_ , Daisy kept telling herself firmly. _My mom won't ever hurt me again._

Besides, whatever happened with Jiaying today or tomorrow or however long this fight against Malick would go on for, Daisy knew one thing for certain: Jiaying wasn't really her mother. That title was reserved for Melinda May only.

Taking a deep breath, Daisy headed down the corridor to fetch her belongings so that she could settle in her room and try and get some sleep. All she could do was rest and try not to let herself get worked up as they waited for Mack and the others to return from Afterlife…and try not to think about Jiaying left to worry anxiously by herself.

Daisy paused nervously outside the room Daniel had claimed before giving the door a gentle tap.

'Come in.'

'Hey, sorry, were you…asleep?' Daisy said, stepping through, but then she paused as she raised her eyebrows at Daniel in surprise; he seemed to be in the middle of doing some stretches. 'Guess not.'

Daniel smiled. 'Just woke up a few minutes ago. Simmons gave me some exercises to do a few times a day. For the leg, y'know,' he explained, straightening up.

'Uh-huh.'

Daniel looked at her carefully, his forehead creased in concern. She still didn't look one hundred per cent. He should have paid better attention that day, when they'd been setting up the security feed to the Lighthouse in 1976. He should have reacted faster. He should have done more to protect her from Malick. He wished he could have been the hero she deserved.

'Mack dropped by just now to give me the update. They're…headed back to Afterlife,' he said, watching her carefully.

'Uh…yeah. I just saw them off to the Quinjet,' Daisy said, her nods a little too quick.

Daniel took a step towards her and tilted his head, his brow furrowed in concern. 'Are you okay?'

'F-fine. Yeah, fine,' Daisy replied, averting her gaze, and she looked around the dark, small room, desperate to think about something – _anything_ – else. 'It's not exactly the best accommodation. But there's more room in here than on the Zephyr, so that's something.'

'It's great. I like it,' Daniel said brightly, looking around appreciatively; it was nice to have a room that was _his_ …at least for now.

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him, bemused. 'You're not a complainer, are you?'

'Well…I did complain quite a bit in the seventies, if you recall,' Daniel said, frowning awkwardly, and Daisy rolled her eyes.

'I think you're allowed a few exceptions when you've just been pulled out of your own timeline.'

Daniel nodded. 'Good point.'

'Anyway, uh, I was just wondering where you put my bag – oh.'

She paused as she looked down and saw that Daniel had left her duffel bag on the floor in the corner of the room, beside his. A hint of a smile appeared on her face as she slowly turned back to look at Daniel, and she raised her eyebrows.

'Are you wanting a roommate, Agent Sousa?' she asked.

Daniel's eyes widened. ' _Oh_ , oh God, sorry, I didn't – I-I wasn't sure which room you had the last time you were here, I was going to ask-'

Daisy interrupted his mortified babbling with a chuckle. 'It's okay, I was kidding. My bunk's just up the corridor,' she said, picking up her duffel bag. 'C'mon, I'll show you where it is.'

Daniel almost did a double take, sure he had misheard her. 'Show me?' he said, confused.

'Yeah, w-well…' Daisy said in a would-be-casual voice, 'if you need to find me in case of…' She trailed off, trying desperately to think of something on the spot and failing miserably.

'In case of…' Daniel prompted, and Daisy wondered if that was a hint of a smile she could see beginning to appear on his parted lips.

'Incidents,' she finished.

'Incidents. Okay. Sure,' Daniel said bemusedly, unconvinced, and he offered a hand out to her bag. 'Do you want me to…?'

'I'm okay, honestly,' Daisy insisted, hoisting the bag over her shoulder. 'But thanks.'

Daniel was confused; if she didn't want him to carry her duffel bag to her room, then why did she want him to accompany her? Nevertheless, he walked with her to her room, which was just around the corner and down a dingy little tunnel. The room was plain and simple, just like his, with the basic necessities. Closing the door slightly, Daisy dumped her bag down beside the foot of her bed and turned to Daniel.

'So…this is my room.'

'I see. Very nice,' Daniel said, nodding as he looked around and tried not to swallow.

A slight smile appeared on Daisy's face. It was enjoyable to watch Daniel like this, knowing more or less how he felt about her. She could see the cogs whirring, wondering what he should do, what the most appropriate thing to say would be, how a gentleman should act in this situation.

Eventually, he went with –

'So h-how long were you based here then? Before the Zephyr?'

'Uh…about a year, give or take,' Daisy replied, as she sat down on her bed. 'Like I said, it's-'

'-Hard to keep track of time, yeah, I can imagine. When was the last time you had somewhere…permanent?' Daniel asked.

'Permanent?' Daisy said, and she blinked rapidly, as if confused by the question. 'I…well…never, really. I grew up with foster parents, I spent my entire childhood moving between families, I…before Coulson found me, I was living in a _van_. I've never really settled down or lived like…well, like an ordinary person.'

Daniel nodded slowly, deep in thought. He couldn't tell whether that fact filled her with sadness and longing, or just acceptance.

'What's it like? In your time, I mean?' he asked, fascinated. 'To…live like an ordinary person, as you put it. Outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., where there's…no time-travel and robots who wanna take over the world. What do normal people do, day-to-day?'

Daisy smiled; it was a good question, and one she wished she was better equipped to answer. 'Well…I know it's nearly seventy years in your future, but…to be honest, I don't think it's much different than back in your day,' she said. 'People wake up, they…catch the bus to work or whatever, and after…they come back home to their family and get dinner and watch TV and go to bed.'

She wondered if that would ever sound appealing to her one day. Probably not.

Daniel looked sceptical. 'B-but there must be more to it than that, I mean, c'mon, like your little phone device thing. What's that all about?'

'You mean, my cell phone?'

'Yeah, do normal people have those? Or is that just a high piece of S.H.I.E.L.D. tech?' he asked.

Daisy smiled. 'N-no, most people have these. You can do a load of stuff. Here, let me show you,' she said, gesturing for him to come sit beside her on the edge of the bed; he did so tentatively as she pulled out her cell phone from her jacket pocket and held it out to him. 'So – there's the camera, which, obviously, you already know about. Then this app here lets you stream music…literally any song or piece of music you can think of, it'll be here.'

'Seriously? On _that_ thing?' Daniel said, baffled, as he touched the phone in her hand. 'How can it hold that much information? It's so small.'

'It's cool, right? I can take you through all the music genres, if you like. Although, I…think you'd find my time's stuff a little…well, horrifying,' Daisy said, grimacing.

Daniel cocked an eyebrow at her. 'I'm made of strong stuff, I'm sure I can take it.'

With a few presses and swipes, Daisy chose a song at random from one of her downloaded playlists. It wasn't rap or heavy metal or screamo…it was just a simple R&B track, and yet after merely ten seconds Daniel had flinched away from her phone, looking repulsed. Daisy chuckled as she stopped the track.

'On second thoughts, perhaps I'll stick with my Kitty Kallen and Frank Sinatra,' Daniel muttered.

'That doesn't actually sound half bad,' Daisy said, and then she eyed him in interest. 'Do you like musicals? Just out of curiosity.'

'Uh…yes,' Daniel replied hesitantly, not sure if that was the right answer or not. 'Saw _Calamity Jane_ at the drive-in the other year. Loved it. Great songs.'

Daisy's face lit up. 'With Doris Day?!'

Daniel looked pleasantly surprised. 'W-wait, you know it?'

'Yes!' Daisy said enthusiastically. 'I mean…the message is a little dated, but the music is just…'

'So good,' Daniel said with a smile, nodding in agreement.

' _Soo_ good, right?' Daisy said, and she felt her shoulders relax, the stress and tension she had felt ever since Jiaying's appearance in the control room having momentarily disappeared. 'Y'know, I'm gonna have to introduce you to _Hamilton_ at some point. When we get, like, three hours spare. It'll change your life.'

'More so than…being pulled out of my timeline?' Daniel said sceptically.

'Oh, it doesn't even compare,' Daisy replied with a smirk. 'It's about Alexander Hamilton, I think you'd really like it. Well, you kind of have no choice in the matter, you _have_ to like it. Sorry, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to musicals…'

She turned back to her phone, a little rattled by how she had suddenly turned into a younger version of Fitzsimmons from back in their old innocent nerdy days. She didn't know what had come over her.

Daniel frowned at her, confused. 'Alexander Hamilton? As in, one of the founding fathers? How is… _how_ is that a musical?'

'Oh, just you wait,' Daisy said tantalisingly, her lips twitching, before holding her phone out to him again. 'And see here, this app is basically a streaming service, you can watch a bunch of movies and TV shows. I mean, you can't right now because there's no internet here in the eighties but still…'

'H-how…?' Daniel said, in awe, as she flicked through some of the latest movies and episodes she had downloaded to her phone. 'And…wait, TV shows? Wh-what…?'

'Hm-hm. Oh, boy, you're gonna have so much fun with all this when we get back,' Daisy said eagerly, but then her smile faltered. ' _If_ we get back.'

'What's _Back to the Future_?' Daniel asked, pointing at the movie's icon under her list on her phone's app, and Daisy grinned at him.

'Oh, Simmons is gonna freak. We're gonna have to have a movie night at some point. Definitely.'

'Sounds good to me,' Daniel said, smiling nervously.

'And then _this_ is the holy bible of modern technology.'

Daniel peered curiously at the app she was showing him. 'Uh…'Google'?'

'Yeah. It contains knowledge about literally _everything_ there is to know, through the internet. You type in any question and it'll come up with hundreds of thousands of answers for you,' Daisy said eagerly.

'Well that…actually sounds quite confusing. How do you know which answer is right?' Daniel pointed out, frowning, and Daisy tilted her head at him.

'Fine then, rain on my parade, why don't you?' she said, rolling her eyes as she tried not to smile. 'And then here…welcome to the mystical land of social media.'

'Social media?' Daniel said, pulling a face. 'Am I right to be scared by the sound of that?'

'Yup. It's how everyone communicates nowadays – well, young people anyway. Not that I use any of these much, I live with pretty much everyone I'd wanna communicate with,' Daisy said, 'but still - you got Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat…actually, I thought I'd got rid of Snapchat ages ago-'

'Now you're just saying made-up words.'

'-Oh no wait, I know why I didn't delete it – you can't beat a good filter,' Daisy said, turning her front camera on and holding her arm out so that her phone could get them both on screen. 'Smile.'

Bemused, Daniel leaned in slightly and smiled at the screen. There was a click and then Daisy brought the phone closer to them so they could see; there they were, smiling and looking genuinely happy…only with animated whiskers and floppy bunny ears on each of their faces.

Daniel looked perplexed. 'And we…look like cartoon animals,' he said slowly.

'Yeah,' Daisy said, chuckling, but then her eager beam faded slightly as she thought how it must look from Daniel's point of view. 'I realise now how…childish it is.'

She hadn't taken a selfie or a photo with anyone in years, not even with anyone from the team. They just hadn't really had time for that side of things. She didn't realise until now just how much she'd missed it. The carefree laughs, the downtime, the sense of normality when they could have a break from their mission and just be themselves. No worries, no imminent danger, no constant looming threats, no life or death. Daisy couldn't remember the last time she had experienced that.

'Actually it's…kind of funny. The ears suit you,' Daniel said, smirking at her. 'Although…I'm conscious that you've now got a photograph of a strange man sat with you on your bed. Maybe not that appropriate.'

Daisy's heart leapt as she turned to face him on the bed; was he flirting with her, or was he in fact genuinely concerned? She thought she could see a glint of something in his eyes, perhaps a small twitch on the corner of his lips, but his face was so hard to read…

'By that do you mean that this might be an HR issue, given that we work together now, or…just that your head's still stuck in the old-fashioned values of '55?' she asked him challengingly.

'Eh, the fifties weren't always so old-fashioned,' Daniel said, his eyebrows twitching slightly. 'Also, 'HR issue'?'

'Never mind,' Daisy replied, chuckling softly. 'Anyway…there you have it. A bit of ordinary 21st-century life for you, all wrapped up in a little cell phone. Crazy, really.'

Daniel shook his head wearily at her phone, a dazed smile on his face, before looking back at her. 'Do you think you'd like it? Ordinary life?' he asked.

Daisy hesitated; no one had ever asked her that. 'I…I'm not sure. I've never really thought about it before,' she replied. 'What about you?'

'I'd like to give it another shot, maybe. One day,' Daniel said, and he gave her an awkward glance before rising from her bed. 'Anyway, I, uh…I should probably get back, t-to my own room.'

'Uh, yeah, sure,' Daisy said, her face falling slightly as she too got up to her feet.

She was sad to see him go. It had been fun, showing him her cell phone, the joys of simple modern-day technology, of 'normal life', as he put it. It had been nice to take her mind off Jiaying, to let herself be…well, just be _her_ , for once – Daisy as a person, not just Daisy as an agent or a superhero.

'Thanks for…well, distracting me,' Daisy said awkwardly, averting her gaze, and Daniel tilted his head at her.

'Is there a reason you need distracting?'

'One I won't trouble you with.'

'That's what I'm here for,' Daniel said kindly.

Daisy looked at him fondly. 'No, it's not. But I appreciate you saying it, really,' she said, and she grinned as his stomach then let out a loud growl. 'You should get some food down you, mister.'

Daniel grimaced; he couldn't really argue with that. 'Are those microwave things here any more straightforward than the ones on the Zephyr?' he asked, and Daisy grinned.

'It's basic eighties' stuff, you should be fine.'

Daniel hesitated before stepping back towards the door. He wasn't going to push on whatever was bothering her, though he had a pretty good idea what it was. Just before he and the others had left for Afterlife, Mack had woken Daniel up from his nap to give him an update on the current situation. He'd said that Jiaying, the Inhuman from Afterlife who had helped cure Yo-Yo's powers a few days ago before they'd hit the time storm, was currently under their protection at the Lighthouse, as she was being hunted down by Malick. He'd also said that Jiaying happened to be Daisy's mother (although she had yet to meet Daisy's father and hence give birth to Daisy), and that they had promised to protect Jiaying's other daughter, Kora, who was in Malick's clutches.

Daniel couldn't begin to imagine the whirlwind of emotions that must be swirling through Daisy right now, but he could tell that she wanted to be left alone. She would talk to him about what was bothering her if and when she was ready, and he wasn't going to pressure her into talking about anything she wasn't comfortable with.

'Okay…do you want anything from the kitchen?' he offered.

'No, I'm…gonna try grab some rest. But thanks.'

Daniel nodded, though his smile didn't quite match the look in his eyes; Daisy could tell he was worried about her. 'I'll see you later. Sleep well,' he said.

He walked away and opened the door. Daisy opened her lips, wanting to call after him. She knew that if she grabbed him now, kissed him and shut the door, he would stay. He would kiss her back. He would cherish her. But it scared her. It scared her to know that he wanted her, that if she just said, 'screw it' and went for it right now, he would most likely happily oblige. It scared her that it might risk ruining this perfect, special connection they had developed in merely a few days. In this past week Daniel hadn't just become a close friend to her; he had become her pillar of strength, always making it clear that he was around for any help or support that she never asked for, always knowing that she could handle herself but offering to take the load off her anyway without overstepping his boundaries. They had been through too much together in the short time they'd known each other for Daisy to risk throwing it away or getting hurt or losing him.

And so, Daisy closed her mouth and let him leave. Daniel paused slightly as he stepped out into the corridor and turned back to close her door behind him. His eyes met Daisy's as she stood there by the bed, gazing at him. And then they both smiled – a tender, shy smile that seemed to mean a dozen different things, a promise of what was to come perhaps – before Daniel gently closed the door and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 for 7x10 will be finished and posted in a couple of days hopefully! Thanks so much for reading and all your lovely feedback :)


	14. A Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x10 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Sleep never came. For a couple of hours, Daisy tried, she _really_ tried, but no matter how fiercely she curled up on her bed and scrunched up her eyes so that they were tightly shut, she just couldn't switch off. Her mind was restless, torn between her conflicting feelings towards both Jiaying and the sister she had yet to meet.

She wondered what Daniel was doing. Was he trying to nap as well? Was he still struggling to work out the kitchen appliances? Was he wandering around the corridors outside, trying to get to grips with this new base? Was he spending time with the team members who had remained here?

Daisy partly wished that she had asked Daniel to stay in her room with her now, even if just to keep talking to her and asking her more questions about the 21st century. There was something about his presence that was so calming and reassuring. She didn't feel alone or lost when she was with him. He made her feel like, no matter what problems they were facing, everything was going to be all right in the end. It was a stupid, wishful notion, and Daisy knew she was silly to feel that way when he was around her, but she couldn't help it. He'd started having this effect on her ever since he'd promised to get her home when they'd been locked up together in that terrifying barn.

_Stop thinking about him._

But it was better to think about Daniel than Jiaying, the mother from her nightmares, and the evil twisted sister who had never existed until now.

Groaning in defeat, Daisy sat up in her bed and put her leather jacket back on. She couldn't stay in this room for one more second. She needed to get out of here, to stretch her legs, to try and focus on something – _anything_ – else.

She left her room and began pacing around the base, walking up and down the corridors, completely lost. After a while, she headed over to Daniel's room, needing to talk to someone, but he wasn't there. She then went to find Jemma but she wasn't around either, and then remembered that Jemma had been planning to head back to the Zephyr, to check on Deke and see how the time drive was doing. She would have gone looking for May as well, but May was having a hard enough time trying to come to grips with her new empathic powers; she didn't want to have to deal with Daisy's emotional state right now. Daisy began to breathe heavily as the panic began to settle in, the image of her mother stood there in the control room engrained in the forefront of her mind. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts, but at the same time she didn't want to burden anyone with them either.

Her hands shaking slightly, Daisy could think of nothing much else to do other than walk around and wait for the others to get back. So off she went, walking around the floor of the base aimlessly. She knew that if she just kept moving and tried to stop thinking about her mother resting in a room on this level then she could avoid falling into a pit of despair…all she had to do was just keep walking…

_Have they reached Afterlife yet? Will they succeed? What will it be like to meet my sister?_

But no, Daisy knew she mustn't think like that…it would do no good…she just needed to keep walking, to keep moving –

'Hey,' came a voice that made her heart skip a beat.

Daisy turned around as she kept walking down the corridor, and her face lit up slightly as she saw Daniel jogging up to her. She still wasn't used to seeing him move so agilely and without his pronounced limp and cane.

'Hey,' she greeted with a smile, and she didn't even bother to hide the way she looked him up and down as he caught up with her. 'Looking spry for an old guy. How's it feeling?'

'Fantastic,' Daniel replied, walking alongside her. 'I think I'm a fan of the 21st century.'

He wasn't just saying this; after the small things Daisy had told and shown him about her time over the past couple of days, as well as his time spent getting used to this astounding new prosthetic, Daniel had an inkling that the future might not be half as intimidating as he'd once feared it might be.

'Yeah, don't get your hopes up,' Daisy said wearily, glancing at him as they walked around the corner. 'We make a mean prosthetic, but, uh, fascism is back.'

Daniel frowned at her. 'You mean the thing I helped wipe out ten years ago?' he asked.

'Yeah. The past won't leave us alone,' Daisy murmured agitatedly, her face suddenly pale white as she stared ahead in the direction they were walking.

'Yeah, Mack caught me up,' Daniel said, watching her carefully.

His brow was furrowed as he looked at her. She seemed far away, her eyes lost in a trance, her face contorted with fear and dread. He had never seen her so anxious.

'You know, you said her name to me…' Daniel said, his voice both curious and concerned, as he stopped walking; Daisy halted beside him as he glanced behind them to check that no one was nearby to overhear. 'When, uh…Malick was doing a number on you. Jiaying.'

Daisy looked at him and hesitated for a moment as he frowned at her in concern. She was almost surprised that he had remembered her incoherent babbling while she had slipped in and out of consciousness back at the barn – she could barely remember it herself, given the amount of drugs and pain clouding her mind at the time. But then she remembered that this was Daniel Sousa, who paid attention to everything she said and did, and who just wanted to help and make sure that she was all right. Not only that, he wanted to know more – more about Jiaying, specifically – and that meant more to Daisy than she could say. It was so important to her.

She didn't really want to talk about it, she didn't want to bother him with her pain. But of course, Daniel knew that about her. He'd said so himself, back in the equipment room in the time loop. And all he wanted to do was be there for her.

Daisy exhaled sadly. 'HYDRA did the same thing to her – they cut her up, they took her power,' she replied. 'In my past and in her…future.'

Daniel nodded, a slight frown on his face. Time-travel really was confusing sometimes.

'She can heal herself – live…a long time,' Daisy explained, averting her gaze.

Daniel understood now. 'Malick thought that's what I could do,' he said, frowning. 'He's after the real thing now.'

'Did Mack…say anything about what happened with her and I?' Daisy asked tentatively.

She didn't know why she brought it up. She never liked discussing it. Merely weeks after her traumatic ordeal at Afterlife with her mother six years ago, Daisy had refused to talk about it with her team, her closest friends. They had respected her wishes, and never mentioned the subject again. Daisy had always wanted to keep it that way, to keep the traumas of her past buried. But for some reason, she wanted Daniel to know about it. She didn't want to keep anything hidden, no matter how dark or brutal. She didn't want her past to be a secret to him.

Frowning, Daniel shook his head and rested his hands on his hips as he waited politely for her to continue. She knew that he wouldn't press the issue if she chickened out; she was in control of the conversation. His look of concern touched her.

'Yeah, well things got _really_ bad, and…' Daisy trailed off and sighed.

The memories were too real, too vivid, too harrowing. Perhaps now was not the time to tell him absolutely everything. Maybe she could try again when she was in a better place, when Jiaying wasn't here to torment her. She would tell him the whole story when she was ready. And for some reason, as she looked at him now, she knew for certain that that day would come.

'It's a long story,' she murmured. 'But it came to an end.'

Daniel didn't have to ask her to elaborate to know that she didn't mean a happy end.

He raised his eyebrows. 'Maybe now's your chance to experience what she was like _before_ that,' he said thoughtfully, and Daisy glanced up at him, confused, as he looked at her encouragingly. 'You should talk to her.'

Daisy shook her head at once, frowning. 'No, I shouldn't, she-she can't know who I am.'

'Why not?'

Daisy stared at him incredulously. 'Because of the timeline, she can't-'

But Daniel cut over her. 'The timeline is screwed, pardon my French,' he said exasperatedly. 'And look who you're talking to, a guy who served under 'I Like Ike' and was supposed to be dead by now.'

''Ike'?' Daisy said, bewildered.

Daniel floundered for a bit before giving up – there was no point in explaining. 'Point is…' He sighed as he took a step closer to her and fixed her with that gentle gaze of his that Daisy loved so much. 'You got a rare opportunity here.'

Daisy's lips parted as she considered what he was saying. He was trying to break through the walls and excuses she'd put up. Normally she wouldn't let anyone do that…but what if Daniel was right?

'I got a list of people long gone by now I'd…I'd do anything to have one last stolen moment with,' Daniel said softly.

He looked wistful, and sad too. Daisy's heart sank for a moment as his eyes filled with regret and longing.

_He means Peggy_ , she thought.

Daniel averted his gaze for a moment, then looked back up at Daisy. 'Regardless of what space-time has to say about it,' he went on, the crinkles around his eyes more pronounced as he gave her a slight smile.

Daisy considered him, deep in thought. He was telling her to be selfish for once, that it was okay to do this for herself, that she should take the opportunity to recover that connection with her mother because perhaps she deserved to be happy and she deserved to look out for herself as well as the rest of the world. But what if it was a mistake? It could go wrong in so many ways. She could say something, or Jiaying could say something…that neither of them might ever recover from. It was too much of a risk.

She closed her eyes. 'I don't know,' she whispered, conflicted.

'I'll be your chaperone, how about that?' Daniel offered gently, holding his hands out and making Daisy's heart skip a beat. 'You need me to bail you out, I'll be right there.'

The smile in his eyes and on his lips was too tender and caring for words. It was almost too much for Daisy to bear. She gazed at him in awe, a slight smile on her face.

She couldn't believe him. _He really is perfect, isn't he?_

He was protective, but not in an overbearing or macho sense; he was the kind of person who valued her independence but just wanted to make sure that she didn't neglect her own health and wellbeing. He was nurturing and gentle, and simply believed that she deserved the support of others. A man out of time, with the whole world of the future to explore…offering to chaperone someone he'd met a week ago on a visit to her mother.

Daisy wanted to say, 'where have you been all my life?' but instead what came out was, 'You really are a _square_ , aren't you?'

Daniel nodded slowly, his heart racing slightly at the way she looked at him. 'Harsh, but…yes,' he agreed, a soft smile on his face.

She gazed at him, and wondered if he could see how besotted she was, or if he was simply too much of a gentleman to ever presume she would feel such a way about him. They hovered there for a moment in the corridor simply looking at each other, Daisy's lips curving at one end as she watched him, and then, raising his eyebrows encouragingly at her, Daniel set off down the corridor to lead her to Jiaying. Daisy hesitated for a fraction of a second, then followed.

'Are you nervous?' he asked, as they walked on.

Daisy knew there was no point in lying to him. 'Wouldn't you be? I barely knew her…in her future, I mean, and the time we had together back then really was _not_ the best.'

'Then maybe this will give you closure.'

'Maybe,' Daisy replied, too much of a pessimist to be hopeful. 'Kind of makes closure harder though when she's got another daughter who never existed in our original timeline.'

'Yeah…Mack mentioned about Kora to me as well,' Daniel said, frowning as he watched her. 'I'm sorry, it must be…strange.'

'It is, but…like you said before, we never have a day when something crazy doesn't happen around here,' Daisy said bracingly.

Daniel looked at her, confused. 'Wh-when did I say that?'

'Oh,' Daisy said, grimacing. 'It was, uh, in one of the time loops, sorry.'

'Huh. I still can't really wrap my head around that…all those different loops I can't remember…things I said and did…' Daniel murmured.

'Well…you have nothing to worry about,' Daisy reassured him, with a twitch of her eyebrows.

Daniel laughed softly. 'Good.'

Slightly flustered, Daisy then came to a stop. 'Look, you…you don't have to do this,' she said, as he stopped as well, 'you know…coming with me, I mean, you've got much better things to do, I…'

'Daisy, stop,' Daniel said, tilting his head at her. 'I know I don't have to do this, but I want to. I know I'd want someone with me, if it were me in your position. Though I get I wouldn't be your first choice.'

Daisy's lips parted slightly as she smiled at him. 'Actually…you'd be surprised.'

Daniel smiled back, their eyes lingering on one another for a moment, before they walked on towards the next corridor. His hand accidentally brushed against hers as they rounded the corner; he pulled away at once.

'Oh, sorry-'

'-Sorry,' she said at the same time, and she chuckled nervously. 'It's okay.'

They continued walking side-by-side, both a little awkward and hyper-aware of where their arms and hands were, and Daniel felt almost like bursting out laughing at how ridiculous he was being, blushing like a nervous giddy teenager. What had come over him?

Daisy then cleared her throat to break the silence. 'You know, uh, what you just said…about wishing you could have…one last stolen moment with…well, with people from your time?' she began tentatively as they walked on.

'Yeah?'

'W-well…Peggy Carter's not long gone, you know,' Daisy said, and Daniel looked at her in surprise. 'She lives for…a hell of a long time. She's older here in 1983, yeah, but…you could still talk to her, if you want. We could help you track her down, she'll probably be at one of the top S.H.I.E.L.D. bases somewhere. I'm…I'm sure she'd love to see you. I mean, it would be a shock for her after all these years, yeah, but…to know you didn't die that day, it would…mean so much to her to see you again and know you're okay, I-I know it.'

Daniel smiled at her, a little dazed. 'I appreciate that, really. But, actually, I wasn't talking about her. I meant my parents.'

'Oh. I'm sorry,' Daisy said, surprised and a little embarrassed with herself. 'I've been too focussed on my own family, I…we've never spoken about yours.'

'It's okay. Not much to talk about, we were just a normal family.'

'Sounds nice,' Daisy murmured, envious.

'Yeah, it was,' Daniel said, and he took a deep breath, trying to find some courage. 'Maybe…when all this is over, I can…tell you a bit about them. Only i-if you were interested.'

Daisy's eyes widened slightly as she glanced at him, but she managed to keep walking and her expression under control. 'Yeah. I'd like that,' she said, trying hard not to blush.

She smiled to herself; had that been Daniel's way of asking her out on some sort of date? But no, it couldn't be…

'Can I…can I ask you something?' Daisy then said, slowing down her walk; the room Jemma had given to Jiaying was just up at the other end of this corridor.

Daniel slowed down his pace as well. 'Sure. Anything.'

Daisy hesitated, wondering whether she was brave enough – and perhaps insensitive enough – to broach this topic. 'You and Peggy Carter. I know you two…well, you were together, in the late forties, weren't you?' she said, stunning Daniel, and she grimaced, realising too late that she had overstepped. 'Sorry, I…that's really personal, I shouldn't-'

'No, no, it's fine,' Daniel interrupted reassuringly, 'it's not like it was a secret. What is it you wanna know?'

'Are you still…I-I mean, do you still have…?' She trailed off, unable to finish.

'No,' Daniel said firmly, as they both stopped walking and faced each other. 'Not anymore.'

Daisy wasn't sure why she felt so relieved to hear him say that. She knew from the time loops that he had moved on from Peggy. And yet having it confirmed here, outside the confined bubble of the time loops where things between them had seemed almost like a dream, was deeply reassuring.

'How did it end? If-if you don't mind me asking,' she added hastily.

'Not at all. It…well, I guess it just…it ran its course,' Daniel said, as they slowly resumed walking on towards the end of the corridor. 'I nearly got myself killed and…it compromised Peggy's work and…well, at the end of the day, S.H.I.E.L.D. was more important. Even if it hadn't been for that I don't know if it would have worked out in the end. I never wanted to be anyone's second choice and…well, Steve Rogers was…a tough act to follow.'

'Oh, I don't know.'

Daniel looked at Daisy in surprise.

'Well c'mon, what makes him better than you, a-a fancy shield and costume? A cool title? Superpowers?' Daisy said sceptically. 'I think when it comes down to it, what really matters is…well, the man on the inside.'

Daniel looked down humbly, his lips twitching. 'You're very kind.'

'I'm just being honest,' she corrected him.

'And what about you?' Daniel asked after a moment. 'Do you…did you have…a someone?'

Daisy's lips parted in shock; the thought of answering his question hadn't filled her with a rush of pain, as it might have done merely a few months ago. 'I did. It was…quite a few years ago now, his name was Lincoln. He…he died.'

'Oh,' Daniel said, his face falling. 'Daisy, I…I'm sorry.'

'It's okay. I mean, thank you. I…I just…' She trailed off, taking an age to take another step forward down the corridor, and Daniel looked at her in concern.

'What is it?' he asked gently.

Daisy shook her head, dazed. 'Nothing, it's just…it's strange, I never thought I'd ever…get past it,' she murmured, as they reached the end of the corridor. 'I know it sounds crazy but I thought I'd always just…be in love with his ghost, y'know, or…the memory of him, I guess, whatever. I…I didn't think I'd ever be able to move on and…'

She looked up and met his gaze. _And what about now?_

Swallowing, Daniel opened his mouth to speak, but then his eyes moved over Daisy's shoulder; the door to Jiaying's room had been left ajar. Daisy followed his gaze, confused, and frowned as they both stepped forward and pushed open the door. The room was empty.

'Where is she?' Daniel asked anxiously.

'She'll have probably gone back to the control room,' Daisy replied, thinking fast. 'She'll be worried about Kora and Gordon, that's the first place she'd think would be best to wait. Come on!'

Daisy's heart continued to thud unevenly as they made their way quickly to the control room, but this time it wasn't with the thrill or excitement at Daniel's tender words and devoted gaze. She was so terrified to speak with Jiaying properly, after all that had happened between them six years ago. At least Daniel was here to help ease that transition.

When they walked into the control room, they found that her mother was there, just as Daisy had predicted, pacing and waiting anxiously. She looked up the moment they entered.

'Tell me there's news,' she said desperately.

Daniel took the lead. 'I'm sorry, nothing yet,' he replied.

Jiaying's face fell. 'I knew this was a mistake, I never should've agreed to this plan,' she said, agitated, and she turned away from them.

'You can trust us,' Daisy said gently.

Jiaying raised her eyebrows at Daisy incredulously. 'Trust you? I don't know _anything_ about you. And no one will tell me anything.'

Daisy shook her head helplessly. 'We just want to help. Afterlife is…important to us too,' she said, her voice growing quieter with every word as she averted her gaze; it was too painful to look her mother directly in the eye.

Jiaying looked away, unconvinced. 'You don't know the first thing about it.'

There was a pause as Daisy felt her heart sink. Her mother was dismissing her all over again. She didn't even want to know her.

Daisy wanted to leave. She already knew that this was a mistake.

Daniel swallowed nervously, seeing that Daisy was disheartened; he was about to take a huge risk, but he knew it was right. 'She's been there,' he said firmly, his eyes on the floor.

A stunned silence followed his words as both Jiaying and Daisy turned to look at him in shock. Daniel glanced warily up at Daisy.

Her eyes were wide, wordlessly saying to him, _'What the hell do you think you're doing?'_

'Before your friends showed up, we'd never had an outsider find us,' Jiaying said suspiciously.

Daniel laughed softly. 'She's no outsider,' he assured her.

Jiaying's frown disappeared as she looked at Daisy, full of curiosity, but Daisy's eyes were only on Daniel. This was a huge moment for her, a terrifying moment, and, as irritated as she might be that he may have thrown her in the deep end, she was grateful that he was there by her side, giving her the push to do this. She would have fled way before this if it hadn't been for his comforting presence. He gave her an encouraging nod.

'Go on,' Daniel said gently to Daisy. 'Show her.'

A silence fell. Daisy didn't know if this was the right thing to do…but she trusted Daniel. She looked around the room nervously, not sure what was best. Then her eyes fell on the glass of water stood beside one of the control panels. She felt her heart lurch slightly as she remembered those first lessons with Jiaying in Afterlife years ago, before everything had turned sour…how she had taught her to control her powers, how she had helped her see the beauty in them. Those had been some of the most wonderful days of her life.

Daisy hesitated, then slowly reached her arm out in the direction of the glass; she tentatively released the waves from her hand, and the water inside the glass began to shake, releasing a high-pitched tone. Daniel's lips parted; it was beautiful to watch and listen to.

Jiaying looked up at Daisy, stunned. 'Vibrations,' she breathed. 'Where did you learn that?'

Daisy slowly brought her arm back down. She didn't need to look at Daniel to know what his eyes were telling her to do.

_No more lies. Tell her the truth. Be yourself. Do this for you._

'From you. At Afterlife. In…thirty years,' Daisy replied quietly, almost amused by how ridiculous it sounded. 'We're from the future and I know how that sounds, but it's…' – she sighed helplessly, shrugging – '…it's the truth.'

Jiaying shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to take in everything Daisy had just said. 'I, um…I had a feeling I…I knew you,' she said, and her words almost made Daisy want to cry. 'There's something…so familiar.'

Daisy averted her gaze, unsure of how to respond to that, and inclined her head towards Daniel. Daniel watched her carefully, and knew what she was trying to tell him; that she was okay, that she could handle this.

'Your gift, it's a lot like…' Jiaying trailed off, her expression deeply forlorn, before looking back up at Daisy. 'Nathaniel took that from you.'

Daisy nodded. 'It almost killed me,' she replied, her voice shaking slightly, and Daniel felt a surge of pain, almost like a knife to the heart, as the truth of her words resonated with him and he thought back to the horrors of that day last week in the barn.

Jiaying looked away, distressed. 'It's knowledge of the future that led him to us…that he used to…warp Kora's mind and turn her against me,' she said, aghast.

Feeling like he was intruding now, Daniel glanced up at Daisy. Her eyes were only on her mother now, but she gave the briefest of nods, telling him once again that it was okay, before walking over towards Jiaying. Bowing his head, Daniel slowly backed out of the room to give them privacy.

He walked back down the corridor the way they had come, feeling relieved. He hoped that this would help Daisy. She had clearly been very distressed and traumatised by her past encounters with her mother; perhaps this would help her feel a little better, and make peace with it.

Daniel ended up getting a little lost as he tried to navigate his way around the maze of grey corridors, and found himself back in the lab room they'd entered when first arriving at the base earlier today. It was a relief to find Jemma stood there, working away on whatever new contraption she'd put together from her box of equipment, and the two soon ended up talking. Daniel could tell that Jemma seemed somewhat out of sorts as well, so it seemed a welcome distraction for her as she talked to him about his exciting past cases with the SSR that she'd read about, and asked him about how he was finding it acclimatizing to life in the future. It was the brief mention of Peggy, however, that seemed to intrigue Jemma the most.

'So…you and Agent Carter,' Jemma began, looking a little squeamish, and she grimaced at him apologetically. 'I know this is ridiculous and I already know the answer, but…well, I have to ask…do you still love her?'

Daniel stared at her, dumbfounded. 'I…what is it with people today asking me if I still have feelings for Peggy Carter?' he said, chuckling slightly; he wasn't annoyed, just utterly bemused. 'No, I don't. It ended years ago and I've moved on.'

'Oh, I can see that. I just wanted to be absolutely sure,' Jemma said sweetly, a pleased smile on her face.

Daisy deserved only the very best, after all, whose heart was devoted entirely to her; but of course, Jemma could already see that his was. She'd seen that right from the moment Daniel had rushed onboard the Zephyr carrying an unconscious Daisy in his arms with his bad leg, begging for help.

'Wh-why?' Daniel asked, his cheeks feeling rather hot all of a sudden, and Jemma tilted her head at him.

'I think we both know the answer to that, Agent Sousa.'

A hint of a smile fell on Daniel's face. He wasn't sure why he was surprised. He knew that Jemma wasn't an idiot; she had been around when he had insisted on staying by the healing chamber. She had seen the way he looked at Daisy, numerous times. And he hadn't exactly tried to hide it.

'Are you always this impertinent?' he asked Jemma, amused.

'No, actually,' Jemma realised thoughtfully. 'But Daisy's my best friend.'

Daniel nodded fondly. 'I understand. Sh-she's…she's incredible,' he said, and Jemma felt her heart swell at his words. 'I care about her. A lot.'

'I know you do,' Jemma murmured softly. 'You remind me a little of Fitz, the way you are with her sometimes.'

Daniel took a step towards her in concern; her eyes were tinged with sadness as she smiled. 'Fitz is…your husband, right? Daisy told me about him…how that implant is…protecting his location.'

'Yes. I can't know where he is,' Jemma said, swallowing uncomfortably as she tried not to dwell on the possibilities she'd discussed with Deke earlier. 'Also, technically, I suppose he's not _really_ my husband, at least from his point of view. Not yet, anyway. I was married to _a_ Fitz, but that other version of him…well, h-he died, not long after our wedding. Although…I guess we _are_ still married, it's just that he…missed the wedding. It's rather difficult to wrap my head around.'

Daniel's eyes widened in confusion. 'The _other_ version? As opposed to…'

'Oh, well the Fitz who's with us now – although, he's not really, but you know what I mean – he went into space to find us after we got transported to this base in 2091 after the planet was cracked apart,' Jemma explained, and Daniel's mouth fell open. 'There were two versions of him, you see. And two different timelines. We broke the loop though, so it was all fine in the end. It's…a little complicated.'

'You don't say,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows, but then his expression turned soft as he smiled sympathetically at her. 'You must miss him.'

Jemma looked at him, her eyes suddenly rather wet. 'Very much,' she whispered, and with a sigh Daniel reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

'Simmons! Sousa!'

They both jumped; the voice was coming from Jemma's walkie-talkie.

Jemma picked it up at once. 'May?'

'John Garrett's in the building, he's got Gordon's teleportation powers,' May told them urgently through the comms, and Jemma's eyes widened. 'He's working with Malick, he's here for Jiaying.'

Daniel's face fell in horror at the sound of Malick's name. 'Stay here and don't make a sound,' he said to Jemma, hurrying out of the lab.

But Jemma followed him at once. 'I'm coming with you,' she said firmly. 'I'm not one for hiding. Let's go find Jiaying.'

Daniel nodded at her admiringly. 'Okay, fine. C'mon, I'll just get my gun. We'll be all right, just stay with me,' he said reassuringly.

They headed to his room, where Daniel quickly retrieved the handgun he'd picked up from the speakeasy in 1973. However, as they both emerged back out into the corridor, they began to hear a low, ominous rumbling…the bunker was beginning to shake…the lights were flickering, electricity was sparking all around them…

Daniel looked around, confused, as he tried to shield Jemma from the flying sparks. 'What is that, is that an earthquake or something?' But then he realised. 'Daisy.'

The shaking and sparking then stopped abruptly, and the base came to a still. He exchanged a nervous glance with Jemma.

'Come on, let's go,' she said bravely.

Daniel held his gun out and they headed down the corridor together.

'Who's this Garrett fella, anyway?' he asked Jemma as they rounded the corner.

But then there was a strange noise and a blinding flash of light, and Daniel froze as he realised that Jemma had stopped walking alongside him. He turned around to see a man – whom he could only assume to be Garrett – holding Jemma firmly in his grasp while a ball of swirling blue light surrounded them both. It was the strangest, most surreal sight Daniel had ever seen, and it filled him with terror.

'There you are!' the man said gleefully, leering at Jemma.

'Sousa, shoot him!' Jemma said at once.

Daniel pointed his gun at the man's head and began shooting at once, but he was too late; the man and the strange blue bubble of light had completely vanished on the spot, taking Jemma with them. Daniel's mouth fell open in horror and awe.

_Teleportation powers._

Daniel cursed under his breath; he had told Jemma that she'd be all right, and he'd failed her. Just like he had failed Daisy when Malick had managed to shoot and kidnap them both. Aghast, Daniel rushed into the control room to find May.

'They took Simmons,' he told her grimly.

May had even worse news for him – the hangar doors and roof to the base were opening, and the Zephyr was taking off. Malick and Garrett had hijacked the Zephyr, taking both Jemma and Deke with them.

'What do we do?' Daniel asked desperately, his face contorted with worry.

'I-we can't go after them, the Quinjet's not back yet,' May said helplessly as she watched the scanner; she could feel Daniel's panic rising. 'I can keep a track of where they're headed but other than that, there's nothing-'

'W-wait, where's Daisy?' Daniel asked, looking around the control room; he was surprised that she hadn't joined them herself to see what was happening.

A silence met his words.

Daniel turned to May, his eyes widening. 'Agent May, where is Daisy?' he repeated sharply, and suddenly he was back to being Chief Sousa of the West Coast Division as he stared at her.

May looked back at him with sad eyes, her face looking as if it might crumple. 'Garrett wasn't the only one who took a tour through the base,' she murmured.

Daniel let out an unsteady breath. _Malick_.

Horrified, Daniel turned without another word and rushed off to find Daisy.

'Sousa-!' May called after him, but he'd already fled from the room.

Trying to remember where he'd sensed the rumbling and Daisy's vibrations coming from earlier, Daniel rushed down the corridor, through one of the tunnels and around a corner onto another corridor…and there she was. Daniel stopped to pause for breath and exhaled sharply in relief. She was alive.

She was sat on the floor at the far end of the corridor, her back to him. Her shoulders were shaking; she was crying. He could see two legs sprawled out in front of her.

'Daisy,' Daniel panted, rushing over to her. 'Daisy, are you okay? Daisy, look at me! Are you hurt?'

Daisy couldn't look up. His voice sounded far away, as if she were underwater and drowning, and he couldn't reach her.

'I…I…' She tried to speak but only more tears came.

Daniel's heart sank as he looked down in shock at Jiaying's body resting on Daisy's lap. He wasn't sure what he had thought initially when he had seen them from the other end of the corridor; perhaps that Jiaying had been hurt and simply needed medical attention? But not this. Never this.

'Oh my…wh-what happened…?' he asked, kneeling to the floor.

'M-Malick,' Daisy replied tearfully, her voice shaking with anger as she stared down at Jiaying in her lap. 'H-he told her I was her daughter, and she…she was protecting me, he…he killed her, he just…snapped her neck like that. With _my_ powers.'

'I'm…oh, God, I-I'm so sorry, Daisy,' Daniel said in a tremoring voice, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder; her shaking began to lessen at his touch. 'This is my fault, if I hadn't told you to talk to her then maybe-'

'No. Don't you dare,' Daisy said firmly, and for the first time she tore her eyes away from Jiaying and looked up at Daniel, tears trickling down her cheeks. 'This is _not_ your fault. This is all Malick. That son-of-a-bitch did this, not you. Y-you gave me a moment with her that I never knew I could have. I know now what she was like before HYDRA destroyed her. She…she was a good person.'

Daniel nodded as he stroked her back. 'Yes, I believe she was.'

'She loved Kora so much, sh-she was a good mom to her. I-I think she could have been for me…if she'd had the chance. If HYDRA hadn't…' Daisy mumbled, sniffling as she wiped away her tears and gazed back down at her mother's body. 'She'd never have meant to-to hurt me, she was just trying to do the right thing…'

'I know, I know…'

'But now that won't even happen. She won't even meet my dad, she won't…I-I…I won't be born.'

Daisy's voice turned to a whimper as she spoke those last words. Watching Malick snap her mother's neck right before her very eyes had made anything to do with the timeline go out of the window. It was only now that she was beginning to process what it all meant. The shock threatened to overwhelm her as she looked up at Daniel, panic-stricken.

'Oh, God…' Daisy said, her voice wavering uncontrollably. 'I…how am I still here?'

Daniel didn't know what to say; he gaped at her helplessly, wishing there was more he could do. 'I…I honestly don't know. But I'm so glad you are,' he said, squeezing her shoulder.

A strange noise escaped Daisy's mouth as she nodded at him, her eyes bloodshot, and looked back down at Jiaying's body. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She couldn't believe any of it. Watching her treacherous mother die once at the hands of her father had been painful enough, but this…for some reason this seemed to hit harder. As she began to cry more, Daniel reached down to close Jiaying's eyes, and then he gently moved Jiaying from Daisy's lap. Daisy tried to protest at first, but then eventually gave in, and Daniel rested Jiaying's body gently on the floor beside them.

'She…she died trying to save me. I-I can't…this can't keep happening, why does this keep happening?' Daisy sobbed, turning to him. 'I…I can't, Daniel, I can't…'

Daniel felt his face crumple; her pain broke him. 'Come here,' he murmured, and he took her in his arms.

She hugged him back fiercely, clinging to his chest and shoulders like her life might depend on it, and Daniel rocked her gently as he shushed her comfortingly and stroked her hair, cradling her face against his neck and resting his head on top of hers as he tried to console her as best as he could.

Neither of them heard May as she appeared from around the corner then, having been too worried about Daisy to keep a permanent eye on the monitors back in the control room. She came to a halt as she looked ahead of her to see Daniel and Daisy sat together by Jiaying's body at the end of the corridor, and she exhaled shakily. Daniel was holding Daisy close to him, murmuring soft words of comfort as she wept into his chest.

May was overwhelmed. She'd thought that she had picked up on _something_ brewing between the two of them in the Zephyr – even back in 1973 while out on their mission in the speakeasy, she had sensed a definite spark of attraction there – but this was something different entirely, something she had not been prepared for. The emotions emitting from them both were extraordinary powerful, and it shook May to her very core. It was grief, it was despair, it was yearning, it was compassion, it was…it was love. It was _love_ she could feel.

And suddenly May's concern for Daisy slowly began to ebb away as she watched them. She knew then that she didn't need to worry anymore about how Daisy would possibly be able to get through this, or whether she would be all right, or what the future had in store for her. Because the answer was right there, wrapping Daisy in his arms and doing all he could to bring her out of the dark mist that threatened to engulf her.

The answer was Daniel Sousa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a slightly longer chapter than usual, hope you enjoyed! I'm back at work next week but I'll try and keep up with my writing (the updates might not be as frequent but hopefully the next chapter will be finished in a few days!) Thanks for still reading :)


	15. Agents Gone Rogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x11 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a surprisingly productive couple of writing days so here's the next chapter, two days earlier than I'd expected! 7x11 is split into three chapters - the next part should be finished by the end of the week :) Hope you enjoy!

' _Leave my daughter alone.'_

' _Mom, NO!'_

She could still hear and see it all so vividly – the crack of Jiaying's neck, the way her body had slid down to the floor, all of it – but Daisy had to block it out. She had to focus. Jemma was in danger.

Once Daniel had managed to gently encourage Daisy to get to her feet back in that corridor, he and May had moved Jiaying to one of the lab rooms. While Daniel had covered Jiaying's body with a sheet, May had caught Daisy's eye, and Daisy knew from just that one tender glance that May had felt whatever there was between her and Daniel, and the smallest hint of a hopeful smile had appeared on Daisy's tear-streaked face. It was only after they'd left the lab room when May and Daniel had then been forced to reveal to Daisy that Jemma had been taken by Malick and Garrett on the Zephyr.

In that moment Daisy had suddenly snapped, turning instantly from a grieving, traumatised daughter back to Agent Johnson. It was unnerving for Daniel to witness; it was like a switch had been flicked, and Daisy had marched straight to the control room without any further mention of Jiaying, her mind now focussed. He knew that she was still in shock, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do to stop her; Jemma and Deke needed their help, and she would stop at nothing to make sure they got it.

Daisy was watching the monitors now in horror, breathing heavily, more tears still threatening to spill from her eyes as she stared wordlessly at the Zephyr's little icon on the screen, at a complete loss. She had never felt so helpless. She hadn't been able to protect Jemma, and she didn't have to be a genius to work out why Malick had taken her. She could only hope that he wouldn't be able to work out how to remove the implant before it was too late.

The three of them continued to watch the monitors with bated breath…until suddenly the Zephyr's icon disappeared from the screen. Daisy exhaled shakily; a message was displaying on the screen in large letters saying that the signal had been lost.

'What the hell just happened?' Daisy asked, panicking.

'They disappeared…dropped off satellite,' May replied, as she typed away on the ancient desktop, trying to get back the signal.

Daniel frowned, confused. 'Did they jump? I thought the time drive wasn't working.'

'They didn't jump,' Daisy said desperately, her eyes fixed on the screen as she prayed for the Zephyr's signal to return.

'How do you know?' Daniel asked worriedly.

'They. Didn't. Jump,' Daisy snapped, glancing at him sharply, wordlessly telling him to shut up because she couldn't bear to consider what he was saying.

They _couldn't_ have jumped. She refused to believe it. If they'd jumped then Jemma and Deke would be lost to them, most likely forever, at the hands of the cruel, twisted man who had butchered her. Daisy would die before she let that happen.

There was fury and fear in her tear-filled eyes; Daniel hadn't seen Daisy like this before. He exchanged a wary glance with May.

'Okay…' Daniel said tentatively, trying to think of any slightly more hopeful alternatives. 'How do you…drop off satellite? Don't they surround the planet?'

'You move above them,' May replied heavily, rising to her feet.

Daniel turned back to face the screen, filled with dread. Did she mean what he thought she meant? That Malick and Garett were taking the Zephyr…above the planet's atmosphere? Into _space_? How were they ever going to get Jemma and Deke back, if that were the case? What were they supposed to do now?

May sighed as she watched Daisy carefully. 'Daisy, I can feel your guilt. This _isn't_ your fault,' she insisted.

But Daisy was shaking her head slightly, her mouth open as the shock and fear and anger overwhelmed her. 'I should have quaked that psychopath's bones apart when I had the chance,' she whispered, her voice tremoring, and a single tear trickled down her cheek.

Daniel watched her from the control panel, at a loss with what to say. He knew there was nothing he could do to comfort her. He had helped her rise to her feet after Jiaying's death but this was something different. He knew how much Jemma meant to Daisy. He knew the responsibility Daisy felt. He'd felt it himself, when it had been the two of them locked up in that barn. He had promised to run backup for Daisy in 1976, and she had ended up getting captured and tortured on his watch. He had made it his mission ever since then to never fail her again, to always watch out for her. But right now there was nothing he could do. He could see it in Daisy's eyes; she was beyond devastated. She looked as if her whole world was crumbling apart.

To their relief, Yo-Yo then came in via the comms requesting permission to land. They were back on the Quinjet, which meant only one thing to Daisy – Kora was here.

Daisy rushed off at once, her rage growing with every step she took as she marched down the corridor, Daniel and May hurrying anxiously after her. Daisy knew that Kora wasn't stable, she knew that she was effectively a nuclear bomb with the ability to shoot energy beams from her hands, but she didn't care; Kora was in league with the man who had killed their mother and kidnapped her best friend, and Daisy was _not_ going to make the same mistake she'd made with him. May had taught her well at channelling her pain and despair into something bigger, into something meaningful. Perhaps now that Kora was here she could finally get some answers.

When she saw Coulson and Mack up at the far end of the corridor with a young woman whom she could only assume was Kora, Daisy felt nothing but anger. There was no recognition, no warmth, no hint of familiarity or the sense of longing she had felt years ago when trying to trace her biological family. There was only fury and hatred.

Daisy charged up the corridor towards them, her glare fixed on Kora. Daniel and May flanked her either side, showing their support. When Kora tried introducing herself, Daisy quaked her up against the wall without a second thought, demanding the whereabouts of Jemma. Part of Daniel felt he ought to step in, but he knew that this wasn't his fight. This was between Daisy and Kora. It was only when Mack ordered Daisy to stand down that she reluctantly released her grip of Kora.

Kora tried to calm the situation, saying that she wanted to help S.H.I.E.L.D., but Daisy didn't believe her. She refused to fall for any more tricks. Coulson suggested that a few of them take this somewhere private with Kora; recognising that he needed to take a step back from this, Daniel offered to help Mack and Yo-Yo deal with Malick's other Inhuman companions that they'd captured. He wanted to make himself useful, and he also wanted to prepare for whatever was coming – they all knew that there was a huge fight ahead.

Before he left to follow Mack and Yo-Yo, however, Daniel took Daisy's arm and pulled her gently to the side. Coulson noticed and paused as he escorted Kora away towards the control room, but May shook her head reassuringly at him.

'It's okay, she'll catch up, just give them a minute,' May murmured, urging them to go on.

Daisy looked down at her feet as Coulson and May marched Kora away down the corridor and leant back against the wall, closing her eyes and breathing heavily. Daniel rested his arm on the wall beside her as he watched her carefully, his brow furrowed in deep concern. She had just seen her mother murdered right in front of her, and yet she was trying to move past it already, treating it as if it were yesterday's news.

'Daisy, are you okay?' he asked quietly. 'I know that's a stupid question but…with Jiaying, and now Kora, it-'

'I'm okay. I just wanna find out what the hell Kora's game is,' Daisy said, her nostrils flaring, and she tilted her head at him. 'I'm not gonna quake her up against a wall again, if that's what you're worried about.'

'That's not what I'm worried about, no,' Daniel murmured.

His tone made her look up, and she gazed back at him, her lips parting slightly as she realised just how much he cared about her.

'I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. In the control room,' Daisy said, looking away awkwardly. 'I didn't mean…I was still a little…' She trailed off, unable to put it into words.

'What, when?' Daniel said, confused, but then he remembered. 'Oh…no, don't…honestly, don't worry about it. Don't ever apologise for something like that.'

He wanted to say how amazed he was at how well she seemed to be coping, given everything that had happened today, but he didn't want to sound condescending. His eyes then fell on the deep cut on her cheek that she had obtained from her fight with Malick; it had stopped bleeding, but still looked rather painful.

'You're hurt…' he said, reaching out; his fingers held her cheek softly, almost like a caress, as he gazed worriedly at her wound.

Daisy merely rolled her eyes. 'Ugh, I know, it keeps healing and then pretty much every year something else happens to open it up again. Gonna end up with one hell of a scar by the time we're done,' she said, swallowing as she tried to ignore the tingles in her stomach and the race of her heart as he held her cheek. 'It's fine, honestly.'

Daniel eyed her doubtfully as he removed his hand. He knew that she thought he was making a fuss but he couldn't help it.

Daisy leaned off the wall as she stepped closer to him. 'Look, don't…don't treat me any differently…'cause of what happened with my mom. Please don't,' she said quietly.

'Wh…what do you mean?' Daniel asked, frowning.

'I'm used to this sort of thing-'

''This sort of thing'-?'

'-Yeah, and I had my time to grieve, now I need to-'

' _Time_? You barely had five minutes-' Daniel said incredulously, but Daisy interrupted him.

'And I can't waste another second. Please. Sousa – Daniel – I don't want you or anyone else to pity me or…or look at me as a victim in this, okay? I'm…I'm _so_ grateful you were there for me, I…right after Jiaying, I…really, you pulled me back up,' Daisy said, and her hand found his wrist, 'but I need to _stay_ up if we're gonna get Simmons and Deke back, and to do that I need everyone to treat me just like, y'know, ordinary Daisy. You understand?'

She knew it wasn't healthy, but she was dealing with this the best way she knew how – by focussing on the mission.

Daniel gazed at her for a moment, then nodded. 'O-of course. Whatever you need,' he replied, making Daisy's heart soar; she gave his wrist an appreciative squeeze before reluctantly letting go. 'But…Daisy…you shouldn't bottle it up forever. I understand why you need to do it now – believe me, I do, I've done it myself countless times – but you need to look after yourself as well. You'll need to…let it out, eventually. When this is over. And not on your own. You'll need to allow yourself to crash for a little bit.'

Daisy smiled sadly at him. She wished he would take his own advice. As far as she was aware, Daniel hadn't allowed himself time to crash ever since being pulled out of his life in 1955 and losing everyone he knew and loved.

'I know,' she murmured. 'And when that happens, I'll come knocking on your door. Does that make you feel better?'

A small smile appeared on Daniel's face. 'A little. You sure you're good for now?' he asked, frowning; clearly, he was still unconvinced.

'I'm good. Well…as good as I can be,' Daisy replied, because that was the honest answer. 'I'd…I'd better go. I wanna know what Kora's saying.'

Daniel nodded heavily. 'Good luck.'

Daisy tried to force a smile at him before walking away after Coulson and May. She could feel his concerned eyes on her as she left, and part of her almost wanted to turn back around and embrace him in a fierce hug. But nothing could ever show him how grateful she was for him always being there for her, and now was not the time anyway. Right now, she needed to decide on her next course of action, and to do that she needed to face her sister.

Coulson and May had already begun questioning Kora in the control room, trying to figure out what her real plan was. Daisy joined them and watched sceptically as Kora professed her desire to become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and she was taken aback by how little she felt for this woman stood before them. This was her _sister_ , and part of the reason why Daisy had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place was so that she could find her biological family, but…she didn't recognise Kora as family. She only saw her as the enemy.

Kora then confirmed the team's suspicions that they had created a separate timeline since travelling to 1931, and Kora expressed how she wanted to improve this course of events by killing the people who would go on to do bad things. The old timeline that Daisy and the rest of the team had been fighting to preserve was lost but they could create a better universe in this new one.

Just as Sibyl had apparently predicted, Daisy requested to talk to Kora on her own after this, not buying it. But it soon turned out that Kora had been telling the truth; she genuinely believed what she was saying. Malick had led Kora to believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. was a corrupt institution hellbent on control, and Kora wanted to seize this new timeline as an opportunity and work together with Daisy to build a better world.

' _I have always wanted a sibling.'_ It was as if Kora knew exactly the words to say to try and tempt Daisy…or rather, Sibyl knew.

She wanted to spend time with Daisy and talk, to try and win her over to her cause. But she made the mistake of relaying to Daisy what Sibyl had told Kora and Malick: _'There is no future where Daisy Johnson lets her sister fight alone.'_

The words hit Daisy with an enormous clarity. Of course. Sibyl was right. What was she doing here, wasting time speaking to Malick's sidekick? Her sister, her _real_ sister, needed her.

Daisy left for her room quickly after interrogating Kora, and immediately began to pack her backpack with a bottle of water, her gauntlets and other various equipment she thought she might need. She knew that she should take some food as well but she couldn't face the idea of eating anything while she was feeling so churned up about Jemma and Deke.

Kora had revealed to them all that Sibyl could foresee everything in the time stream, but these future outcomes weren't set in stone; they were only based on Sibyl's predictions based on what she knew about everyone. But she didn't truly _know_ them all, not really. How could she? Daisy figured that if she snuck out without forming a plan with the team or consulting anyone, then there was a chance that, just perhaps, this could work. She knew it was stupid and reckless but she didn't care. Her people needed her.

She hesitated before changing into her Quake suit, and she could feel her hands tremoring slightly as she put her protective gear on. Back in that corridor when Malick had come across Daisy and Jiaying, Daisy had been truly shaken by the strength of his powers. He had sent her soaring through the air and smashing against the far wall with a force that had terrified her to her very core. He'd had the powers far longer than her, he'd had more time to build up his strength, to develop them. It seemed unlikely that Daisy had a real chance at beating him. But she had to try and believe in herself. She had to, otherwise this rescue attempt would never work.

Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she headed towards her room door, Daisy paused and took a deep shaky breath.

She was a walking anomaly now. She shouldn't exist and yet here she was, breathing and feeling and every bit as real and alive as all the other people in this bunker. And yet Malick had just prevented her from ever being born.

' _For me, sometimes trying to do the right thing comes out all wrong.'_

Daisy closed her eyes. _Don't think about her. You can't think about her, not yet._

She was practised in this; learning to put aside her grief so that she could focus on the urgent task at hand. It was an unfortunate talent that Daisy had been forced to learn during her missions with S.H.I.E.L.D. She could mourn her mother later; she had to put it aside for now, no matter how hard it was, because right now, Jemma Simmons needed her. And Deke, of course.

Daisy opened her door and peered out into the corridor. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder, left her room and closed the door behind her. She hurried down the corridor and kept checking back anxiously to make sure no one had seen her as she went around the corner and headed down one of the tunnels. She had only made it a few steps when, lo and behold, _he_ appeared, and her heart leapt.

Daniel's voice sounded unusually light and breezy when he spoke, having clearly made note of her request to him earlier. 'Hey, I was just coming to-' he began in pleasant surprise, but then he cut himself short as he took in Daisy's appearance, and they both froze.

She was wearing some sort of costume – or was it a suit? – that fit her figure quite snugly, made of black leathery material, with purple textured panels, a black utility belt round the middle, and boots. Daniel floundered for a minute as he pointed at her, stunned. He'd never seen an outfit like it, nor would he have ever imagined anyone to wear something like that so well. But she looked _good_.

'That's…different,' he noted, looking her up and down before realising too late that he'd probably given away that by 'different' he meant something else.

Daisy could have said the same thing; she'd noticed that he had put suspenders on since she'd last seen him. _God dammit_. As if his shirt alone hadn't been attractive enough…

She closed her eyes and sighed exasperatedly. How was she going to get away with this now? She knew Daniel; there was no way that he was going to leave her alone now. He'd clearly just been on his way to check in on her and see how she was doing, and she adored him all the more for it, but now he was frowning at her suspiciously, already knowing that she was up to something. Her plan to sneak off had already failed only ten seconds after she'd begun.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'Going somewhere?' he asked, trying to conceal his concern.

'Look, I know that you wanna help. Believe me… _I know_ ,' Daisy said earnestly, casting her mind back briefly to all those time loops and the sight of him sat on that stupid steel chair, rising to the occasion every time. 'But, just for once, don't. Okay?'

She was shaking her head at him desperately, her gaze was wide and imploring, and her voice shook ever so slightly as she pleaded with him to listen. Daniel was flummoxed to see her like this; why did she care whether he helped her or not?

Daisy felt so helpless. He didn't know what he was getting himself into. She was cursed. Anyone she got close to, anyone she cared about, always ended up either hurt or dead. Malick had killed her mother, he had taken Jemma and Deke…Daisy couldn't let him do anything to Daniel. She couldn't lose anyone else.

'If you're chasing a lead, you need back-up,' Daniel said simply, giving her an almost bemused look.

In spite of herself, Daisy felt that strange tingling sensation in her stomach at his words. He wasn't telling her to rest in her room and give herself time, he wasn't telling her to regroup with the others and see what they thought of whatever stupid plan she was concocting on the spot, he wasn't even questioning what her plan was. He knew the urgency of the situation. He knew how much Jemma meant to her. And he knew Daisy well enough to know that there was no arguing or backing down. She was doing this, one way or the other, and all he wanted to do was whatever he could to support her with that.

But she couldn't let him. She couldn't.

Daisy stepped closer to him and reached a hand out to hold his arm. 'I have to do this on my own,' she said firmly, nodding before letting go.

She wasn't going to let him get hurt. Not for her.

Daniel hesitated, and as she swept past him he held his arm out and her fingers brushed against his wrist for a fraction of a second before she marched on. He understood then. This wasn't about him getting in the way of whatever she'd got up her sleeve. This was about his safety…and her guilt.

'You know, I learned a long time ago not to let somebody do something stupid on their own,' Daniel said, jogging after her as she walked on down the next tunnelled corridor.

Daisy came to a halt as he caught her up, and she turned to stare at him. He was too good to be true. He really wasn't going to give up.

She raised her eyebrows helplessly at him. _What am I going to do with you?_

'You learned that in the army?' she asked; she looked serious and unimpressed with his persistence, but her smiling eyes gave away how she really felt.

'Brooklyn Scout Troup 87,' Daniel replied.

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. 'Boy Scouts?' she said, both sceptical and amused; of all the things he could have used as an answer, he'd gone with _Boy Scouts_.

Daniel pulled a face. 'We were kind of the bad boys of the Boy Scouts,' he said proudly.

Daisy didn't have time to process how adorable he was; she'd been struck with an idea. The thought of Daniel Sousa being in any way rebellious or any sort of 'bad boy' was almost laughable, it was so unlike him. But that was what she needed right now – for people to act unlike themselves. And he was a grown man, a brave man, a smart man – he had been the _Chief_ of the West Coast Division, for crying out loud – and he could make his own decisions. What if he was right, and she didn't need to do this alone after all?

She had to admit, the selfish part of her desperately wanted him with her, at her side, just because it felt so right. But she couldn't let him come. She couldn't. Could she?

Torn, Daisy looked at him curiously, her parted lips smiling slightly. 'Have you ever…left your post before?' she asked, and Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'Like, snuck off the base and…I dunno…played pool and got drunk?'

Daniel gave her a sceptical look, as if in mock offence. 'You think I'm the kind of person that would do that?' he said.

_So much for being the 'bad boys' of the Boy Scouts._

Daisy hesitated for a moment, inspired. It could work. He could help, and Sybil would never have foreseen it. The two of them, together, could be a force to be reckoned with, and the Chronicoms would never even know what was coming for them.

She looked back up at Daniel. They had only known each other for just over a week, and yet she knew he would walk through fire for her, just as she would for him. And he was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., just as devoted as she was, and willing to do whatever it took to fulfil his vow and help those in need of protection. Daisy had no real plan, just a reckless impulse to find the Zephyr, storm the place, grab her friends and get out of there. The chances of her rescue mission being a success were astronomically thin, and she'd known that the moment she'd left her room, but she'd had to do _something_. But now…with Daniel…they might actually have a chance. Together, they could do this.

'Then this'll be your first time,' Daisy said, and she smiled determinedly at him before walking on down the corridor. 'You coming?'

Dazed as he stared after her, Daniel then followed her down the corridor. He looked rather confused – which seemed to have become a permanent expression for him since joining this team, in all honesty. He was pleased that she was letting him help and that he could be of use, but he was still none the wiser as to what they were actually doing.

'So…what's our plan?' he asked, as they walked on side-by-side.

'You really don't wanna know,' Daisy said darkly, pausing to check around the corner of the corridor to make sure that no one was there to see them.

Daniel glanced at her and understood from her expression that she meant: 'there _is_ no plan'.

'O-kay,' Daniel said slowly. 'Fair enough.'

'It'll be dangerous,' she said warningly, glancing at him as they walked on.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. 'Well, funnily enough, I didn't think we were taking a joy ride to the drive-in theatre.'

Daisy turned to look at him and returned his slight smile; she liked it when he was sarcastic. Thinking about it, a trip to a drive-in theatre sounded fun, even if it was more of a fifties' sort of idea for an outing…or possibly even a date.

'Maybe we can do that when all this is over,' she wanted to say. But she didn't have the courage. Besides, right now was not the time for discussing such matters, and despite that brief moment earlier today when they had taken a selfie on her phone in her room, Daniel didn't really seem the flirtatious type, particularly under such circumstances.

Daisy didn't mind admitting to herself that she was glad Daniel was coming with her, despite her fears. He had a way of being calm and pragmatic, of making her feel safe somehow. And she liked that he never hesitated before jumping right into a fight.

Daniel's eyes widened slightly as they headed into the hangar. 'Uh…the Quinjet?' he said, checking behind them to make sure no one was following.

'Yeah. Thought we could take it out for a spin,' Daisy replied matter-of-factly, slamming her hand on the button to open up the front doors to the jet.

Daniel knew exactly what she was thinking as they entered the aircraft. Strangely, it didn't scare him.

'May said this ship can't travel far in space,' he pointed out, frowning, as they walked through and the lights flickered noisily to life.

'It can't,' Daisy admitted, dumping her backpack down on the floor as the Quinjet doors slid firmly closed behind them. 'Sybil's whole plan is based on her projections. So the only way to get ahead…is to act unpredictably.'

Daniel followed her as she flicked on the switches to the computer screens, and the machines sprang to life.

'Two things against our nature,' Daisy went on as she typed away, 'which, for you…-'

'Is…leaving my post,' Daniel finished for her. 'And you?'

'Sybil dropped Kora in my lap because they knew I'd wanna save her. The thing is, I already have a sister to save,' Daisy said, straightening up as she flicked more switches and the aircraft began to rumble beneath them. 'Her name is Jemma Simmons.'

She said it with such fierceness and determination that Daniel found himself smiling proudly as she marched towards the cockpit.

'So…we're really gonna head out there? To the Zephyr…i-in space?' Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows.

He'd had many crazy days with the SSR but this week was something else entirely. Half the time he kept having to pinch himself to assure him that this was indeed real and not an insane dream he was experiencing back in 1955.

'That's the idea,' Daisy said, grimacing at him. 'You up for it?'

Daniel smiled. 'Just another day at S.H.I.E.L.D., right?'

'That's the spirit,' Daisy said bracingly, and she nudged him in the elbow as she went to towards her seat in the cockpit. 'We make the perfect team.'

Daniel felt a tingle at her words as he followed her. She had already sat down in the pilot's seat and was flicking more switches and lighting up screens on the flight deck monitors.

He sat down tentatively on the passenger seat beside her. 'Won't we use all the fuel getting out of the atmosphere?' he asked, frowning.

'Well, almost,' Daisy replied, trying to concentrate as she pressed more buttons on the navigation display and flight control unit. 'We'll find Z1's location…we'll aim for it…we'll burn the rest of our fuel and float.'

She glanced awkwardly to the side, too afraid to meet Daniel's gaze; she could sense that he was staring at her, trying to take in her words. It didn't sound great, she knew that. She wished she could have made her voice more convincing.

'Sooo it's a 100,000-mile Hail Mary,' Daniel said slowly, and he exhaled heavily, knowing he would probably come to regret this. 'As long as you know what you're doing.'

Daisy said nothing as she flicked more switches, listening to the engines whir beneath them as she pulled a face. She was glad that her wavy hair was blocking Daniel's view of her awkward expression, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to get away with such a discouraging silence.

Daniel stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't, he inclined his head towards her with a raise of his eyebrows, a little stunned.

'You have flown this thing before, right?' he asked, already dreading the answer.

Daisy shrugged, her bottom lip jutting out as she pressed another button and avoided his eye contact.

'A few times?' Daniel said, clinging to a last shred of hope.

She opened her mouth to say something, though she didn't know what, and closed it again just as quickly as she turned to face him helplessly. The poor guy had too much faith in her. She exhaled shakily as she looked at him; she was nervous enough about doing this without Daniel looking so horrified.

' _A_ time?' Daniel asked incredulously, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Daisy sighed breathlessly. 'It's your last chance to stay behind,' she said.

She wasn't sure why she could feel herself smiling as she said it. Perhaps it was because she already knew what he would do. Daniel Sousa had proved himself to be _extremely_ reliable, after all.

Daniel stared at her for a moment as she cocked her eyebrow hopefully at him. She was giving him a choice – to stay here on the ground where it was (moderately) safe, or to come with her into the dangerous depths of space, on what was increasingly becoming evident to be some sort of suicide mission to rescue their friends. But there was no part of his head screaming at him to run, to venture back into the strange comfort of the Lighthouse…because he was letting his heart take the lead on this one. Within merely a couple of days of meeting Daisy, he'd known that he was all in, no matter what, even though he had no expectations. He knew that wherever she went, he would follow. And so that was what he was going to do.

Raising his eyebrows at her, Daniel turned and reached for his harness and seatbelt to buckle himself into his seat.

Daisy's lips curved at one end as she turned back to the navigation panel, and then to her astonishment, she found herself laughing softly to herself, something she'd never thought she could manage…particularly so soon after watching her mother die right in front of her, for the second time at that.

It was such a revelation to her, to know that this man – this competent, caring, _brilliant_ man, who had been thrown into this chaotic ride on the Zephyr without any warning and yet had committed himself to the team's fight without question – was willing to risk his life just to help her on a reckless mission and be by her side. So many times, she had gone into battle alone and been hurt…and she'd had her team there, yes, but it had been far too long since she'd had a real partner, someone to support her and pick her up however she needed. Who would have known that that someone would be a man plucked from his timeline in 1955?

'Without fail,' Daisy said fondly, bemused, as she flicked more switches on the panel and tried not to acknowledge how giddy she felt.

'What?' Daniel said, confused, as he strapped himself in and frowned at her. 'You said you've done this zero times.'

'I mean, everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. has flown a Quinjet, literally everyone,' Daisy said, trying to sound convincing, as Daniel pulled an exasperated face. 'I heard take-off is…a piece of cake.'

Before Daniel could do anything more than gape incredulously with wide eyes and a stunned frown on his face, they were then distracted by the sound of the side-door to the Quinjet opening.

'How're you going to get the hangar doors open,' Mack said loudly, stepping up into the plane with his shotgun axe strapped to his back, 'without Director authorisation?'

He was carrying a bag and staring at them both challengingly, in a way that made Daisy feel almost like he was a schoolteacher who had caught her sneaking around with her boyfriend. Daniel and Daisy exchanged a defeated look.

'This is the only way to bring back Deke and Simmons,' Daisy said to Mack.

'By stealing the Quinjet? Abandoning your sister?' Mack said sceptically.

'No!' Daisy said at once, but Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'Well, yes, actually, exactly that. If we're gonna beat Sybil, we ca- we have to be unpredictable! We can't-'

'We can't play by her rules,' Mack finished for her, understanding why she was so desperate.

He glanced at Daniel, who was looking at him imploringly, wordlessly asking him to please listen to Daisy. Mack then dumped his bag down heavily and stepped over to the monitor. Daisy caught Daniel's eye hopefully as they watched him type away at the computer.

'How's this for unpredictable? Authorisation granted,' Mack said, turning back to them both as he pressed the 'enter' button.

Daniel looked around at Daisy in surprise; her face had lit up, almost excitedly.

'Now give me that seat before I change my mind,' Mack said to Daniel.

'Yes, sir,' Daniel said at once, leaping to his feet.

Daisy touched his arm as he made room for Mack, and he placed his hand briefly on her shoulder, wordlessly reassuring her that it was all going to be okay, before leaving the cockpit and heading to the back-end of the plane to strap in one of the seats.

Daniel wasn't going to lie to himself; he was pleased that Mack was here, going rogue alongside them. He believed in Daisy, he would do anything for her, but his faith in her flying skills had been dwindling somewhat ever since they'd entered the cockpit. He had butterflies in his stomach, but there was no time for Daniel to fully process how anxious he was, which he supposed was a good thing; the moment he had finished buckling himself in, the engines beneath began to roar louder, ready to launch.

'You ready?' Daisy called back to Daniel, as Mack took the lead as pilot and prepared the Quinjet for take-off.

Daniel flashed her a nervous smile. 'As ready as I'll ever be.'

Daisy grinned back at him and then Mack released the leaver, and they took off, surrounded by a stunning circular waterfall as they lifted from the base, up from the lake, and then flew out high into the clouds. Neither Daisy nor Daniel knew what exactly they would be facing when they reached their destination, but at least they could be sure of one thing: that they were in this together. Until the end.


	16. A Moment in Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x11 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

The journey was rough, uncomfortably so. They accelerated upwards at a speed Daniel dreaded to think, the engines throttling up to full thrust. The whole aircraft was rumbling violently; it felt as if there was a storm outside battering them. Daniel clutched onto his harnesses desperately as the rumbling and shaking got exponentially louder and more ferocious. As they climbed higher and higher, Daniel couldn't help wondering to himself whether he had gone insane. He wasn't an astronaut, after all.

_What the hell am I doing?! Why am I doing this?!_

But then he glanced over to Daisy in the cockpit and knew he had his answer.

Daisy tried to remain calm as she and Mack stayed focussed on the front window and the navigation panel, the flames getting hotter and rougher around the Quinjet as they began to break the planet's atmosphere. It felt like they were being pressed back into their seats with a force almost ten times their weight as the aircraft shook them violently, the roaring engines almost deafening. As she took a deep breath, praying that this would work, Daisy thought of poor Daniel sat alone in the back, no doubt panicking and terrified for his life. She wished that Daniel was sat beside her. She would have taken his hand and squeezed it, not just to reassure him but to reassure herself as well.

And then suddenly the rumbling and shaking stopped, the violence went away, and the main engines died down with a whirring noise as the lights dimmed.

Daniel's lips parted. _We've stopped. We made it._

He felt slightly sick as he hastened to unbuckle his seatbelt and harness.

'Guys, my stomach feels…' Daniel began, but then he trailed off in shock as he began to lift from his seat and floated up to the ceiling. ' _Woah_.'

Mack flicked the gravity switch at once, and Daniel fell back to his seat.

'Thank you,' Daniel murmured, relieved.

Mack and Daisy both smiled fondly. He was reacting quite well, considering.

A stunned silence fell. Everything was perfectly calm and still. It almost didn't feel real, after the shock of their rough ascent.

Daisy's eyes were drawn instantly to the front window and she felt her lips part. She had travelled the cosmos with Jemma, Piper and Davis for months on end, and yet she still found it breathtaking out here. She didn't think she would ever be able to get over how beautiful it was. It made her somewhat sad to think that, once this was all over and if by some miracle she survived, she would probably never again come back into space.

Daniel looked over to the cockpit, almost afraid; Daisy and Mack were both looking out of the window, apparently speechless. His heart began to race ahead with anticipation. He tentatively got up from his seat and slowly walked up to the cockpit. He froze as he leant against the wall and looked out at the view before them, and he felt his heart stop beating for a moment.

'Now that we're out of the atmosphere, we should be able to lock onto the Zephyr,' Daisy said as she gazed out ahead of them.

Daniel was surprised that Daisy could even remember why they were here or what they were doing or who they even were, with that view in front of them. She seemed so calm, cool and collected, as if this were a perfectly ordinary day for her, just taking a casual trip out into space.

'My goodness,' Daniel whispered, steadying himself as he took in the incredible sights while Daisy flicked a few switches on the navigation panel.

His eyes felt like they might burst as they tried taking everything in all at once: the vast blackness, the unbelievable amount of twinkling stars, the sheer size of the Earth, that incredible planet that was their home. It took Daniel's breath away. It felt as if his life had been changed merely from just looking at it. It was spellbinding.

'It's really something, huh?' Mack breathed, sounding just as taken aback by what they were seeing as Daniel felt.

Daniel still couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was completely in awe, apparently unable to take his eyes off the Earth. A part of him felt almost big and important being up here, and yet another part of him felt so small and defenceless. He was just a little speck amongst this vast horizon of beauty and creation and life. They all were. Everybody they had all ever known lived down there, in that place that all of a sudden seemed so compact and small, despite how large it looked from where they were sat. All those wars they had fought, the missions they had all embarked on…they seemed almost trivial now. Suddenly what was most important was the need to unite, to protect each other, to protect this beautiful planet that they were lucky enough to call home. The feeling was profound.

It was utterly extraordinary.

There was then a beep on the panel; Daisy and Mack tore their gaze away from the stunning view and looked down at the monitor on the flight deck to see that the Zephyr's tracking signal had appeared. They weren't close – Mack guessed that it would take approximately an hour or two to reach them, if this even worked – but at least they were there, within reach. It was a relief just to know that the Zephyr hadn't jumped forward in time.

'All right,' Mack said, exhaling sharply as he reached for the controls. 'Better strap in there, buddy. This next part's gonna be tricky.'

Daisy glanced behind her to see that Daniel wasn't moving; he was still stood there, gazing out with a dazed frown at the Earth, flabbergasted. She didn't like to interrupt his epiphany, but time was of the essence.

'Seriously, if this doesn't time out just right…we will freeze to death in the dark void of space, so buckle up, Danny Boy,' Daisy said, trying not to let her nerves get to her as she and Mack pressed the necessary buttons and switches on the flight deck and navigation panel.

_That_ brought Daniel back to focus. Eyes widening, Daniel hurried away from the cockpit and back to his seat

He frowned as he sat back down and strapped himself in. _Did she just call me 'Danny Boy'?_

'Triangulating burn path to Z1,' Daisy announced, as she clicked away on the monitor.

Mack took a deep breath. 'Executing control burn in three…two…one.'

And off they went; the force of the launch pressed them all tightly against the back of their seats (or in Daniel's case, swinging slightly to the side) as they lurched forwards, the engines rumbling fiercely away as they soared off, orbiting across the planet.

Daisy felt herself smile. _We're coming, Jemma. We're going to bring you and Deke home._

They flew for some time as they locked onto the Zephyr's location, exhausting all three of them. After a while, the engines burnt out and they were left to drift the rest of the way towards the Zephyr. Mack and Daisy weren't sure how long it would take for them to float, but they knew that it would be good for them to take advantage of this time by getting some rest and mentally preparing for the daunting, near-impossible task that awaited them once they arrived at the ship.

Daniel was quick to hurry back over to the cockpit the moment the Quinjet had slowed down to drift along. He felt dizzy, his stomach was a mess, parts of him felt swollen, and his head ached like mad, but none of it mattered. The view was astounding.

Mack looked up at him with a fond smile. 'Here, take my seat,' he offered, getting up.

'Oh, no, sir,' Daniel said at once. 'Thank you, but I-'

'Really, it's fine. I need to head over to the control panel back there anyway and cut all systems we don't need…otherwise we'll lose power long before we reach Z1,' Mack said, and his lips twitched at the stunned look on Daniel's face. 'Don't worry, Agent Sousa, I started out this gig at S.H.I.E.L.D. as a mechanic. I know what I'm doing.'

Daisy smiled as she watched Daniel nod nervously at Mack; while Mack headed over to fetch his tools from his bag, Daniel slipped into his seat and gazed out of the front seat in awe. Daisy stayed sat with him in silence for a while as he drank it all in. It was peaceful and quiet, and Daisy felt her shoulders relax. She knew what was waiting for them at the Zephyr, she knew it wasn't going to be easy and that they might not make it out alive, but for now, she could enjoy just sitting here looking out at the Earth in the company of a lovely man. It felt so nice.

Daniel was utterly captivated; Daisy could see the planet's surface and the stars reflected in his wide eyes.

'How are you doing?' Daisy asked him quietly.

'I'm…' Daniel shook his head, unable to find the words as he stared out in front of them.

Daisy followed his gaze and sighed wistfully. 'I know. It's really something, isn't it?'

'It's…it's incredible. We could die out here any minute, but…it's worth it just for this,' Daniel murmured, and Daisy smiled softly.

'Yeah, I know what you mean.'

'I could stay out here for…days, weeks, months even, and I don't think I'd ever get bored…It's just…it makes you question everything, doesn't it? Whether there's a higher power, whether there's…a reason for everything…' Daniel murmured, sounding dazed, unaware that Daisy's eyes were not on the stunning view but on him instead, as if she found him just as spectacular. 'We're all so small. Look at it. It's unbelievable. It's beautiful-'

'-It's beautiful,' Daisy said at the same time, and they both smiled. 'I, uh, I kind of got used to this sort of view, not so long ago. Not Earth specifically, I mean, but, y'know, space. Back when Simmons and I were searching for Fitz. We were out in space for about a year. _Way_ far out from here though. Galaxies away.'

At this, Daniel tore his eyes away from the window and raised his eyebrows at her, shocked. 'Wh-what, you…you _what_?'

Daisy laughed softly at his reaction. 'See, I just enjoy throwing these facts out there just to see your face do that thing.'

Daniel looked at her incredulously, his parted lips forming a smile. 'You…you and Simmons spent a year out… _out here_? In space?' he asked in disbelief.

'Hm-hmm. We had some fun moments.'

'Well I'm _very_ jealous. That…that must have been…well, I…' He trailed off, amazed. 'Who'd have thought it? That S.H.I.E.L.D. would have a division out in space?!'

'Oh, w-well…it wasn't a division, it was…just a few of us on a mission. It's not exactly a common thing in S.H.I.E.L.D.,' Daisy said.

'Well I think it should be,' Daniel said, and Daisy grinned; his nerdy enthusiasm was adorable. 'You know, when this is over, you're gonna have to set aside some time to tell me everything that's happened. And I don't just mean out here in space. I bet you've got some great stories since you joined S.H.I.E.L.D.'

Daisy raised her eyebrows. 'Well…they're certainly…yeah, I've got some stories, all right. It would take a hell of a lot of time to tell you them, though,' she said. 'We'd need a few days, maybe even a week.'

'Even better.'

Daisy looked at him, her heart racing. His eyes were on hers, a slight smile on his face. He was being very casual. He knew that she wouldn't think it meant anything; he just wanted to get to know her better, as a friend. He would be fascinated by any stories she had to tell him.

'G-great. Well, err…I'll put 'Story Time' in the diary for when we're back on Earth,' Daisy said, making Daniel chuckle as she slowly got up out of her seat. 'Anyway, uh…I'm gonna leave you and the window alone, seems like you two could do with a moment. I'll go see if Mack needs a hand.'

Daniel nodded, smiling. 'Okay,' he murmured, turning his gaze back to the view outside.

A small smile fell on Daisy's face as she hovered there beside his seat, watching him. She knew how he must be feeling; she'd felt it all before. Turning away, Daisy put a hand briefly on his shoulder, making Daniel's heart leap, and then left him alone to enjoy this blissful moment of looking out at the vast blackness of space and the surface of their wonderful planet.

She walked over to Mack, who was crouched on the floor at the back end of the Quinjet with his tools. He had taken away one of the floor panels so that he could access the wires to most of the Quinjet's systems, and was in the process of cutting them up to shut everything down.

'How's it going?' she asked, sitting down on the floor beside him.

'Almost done,' Mack replied, grunting as he tried reaching for one of the wires, and his lips twitched as he glanced up at her. 'How's our friend doing?'

'He's…he's loving life right now,' Daisy said, a fond smile on her face as she glanced back at Daniel. 'I think he's a space nerd. He's found his new calling.'

Mack scoffed. 'Poor guy. He's had a hell of a lot to deal with since '55.'

'I know, right? I'm amazed he's still functioning, to be honest. He just…he just goes along with whatever, it's…pretty impressive,' Daisy said, raising her eyebrows as she stared ahead of her, seeing nothing as she let her thoughts get wrapped up in Daniel Sousa and the equipment room and his hands on her waist as he'd kissed her back…

But then Mack spoke up, breaking her from her reverie.

'Well…having trust and faith in the right people helps you deal with all the other problems you've got going on,' Mack said, glancing pointedly between Daniel and Daisy, and he sighed as he looked back down at the floor panel. 'In my experience, anyway.'

Daisy watched him sympathetically as he worked. 'It's so weird…that you've been away from us for over a year.'

'I know. Our time with S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps getting crazier and crazier,' Mack mumbled.

Daisy didn't like how weary he sounded when he said it. She didn't like how he was implying that their time with S.H.I.E.L.D. would only inevitably get worse, at least before it got better, mainly because she knew deep down that he was right. Things were in a dire state, not just with Malick and Sybil, but with the timeline as well. It seemed almost hopeless to imagine that they would really be able to fix it.

'We're never going home, are we?' Daisy murmured.

Mack didn't say anything as he continued working on cutting the power supply wires underneath the floor. She looked at him almost desperately. Mack had always been the one she'd looked to for reassurance, but now he was providing her with none.

'Do you think it's still out there? The OG timeline?' she asked.

At this, Mack looked up. 'I pray it is,' he replied, raising his eyebrows, and he exhaled heavily. 'But…who knows.'

She watched him anxiously as he turned back to the panel. What would they do if there was no way to fix the damage they, the Chronicoms and Malick had caused? Would they be able to start over again perhaps? Go back to 1931 and try to re-do everything, similar to one of the time loops? But then what would happen to Daniel? Would he remain with them as an anomaly, or would everything reset and he would return to his normal life in 1955 before being murdered by HYDRA, having no memory of any of this? The thought made Daisy shudder.

'Hmm, this should be…everything but the…life support,' Mack mumbled, deep in concentration as he worked. 'And grav systems…'

With his final cut of the wire, the remaining lights, grids and monitors on the Quinjet all shut down, submerging them all in yet further darkness.

Mack sighed. 'Okay…we should try to conserve oxygen,' he said, and he fit the floor panel back in place.

He got back up to his feet with a grunt and crossed over to sit on one of the seats.

Daisy glanced back to the cockpit to check on Daniel. He was still sat there in awed silence, gazing out at the view. She could tell that he would never get tired of it. A small smile fell on her face as she watched him before she turned back to Mack and spread her legs out lazily on the floor.

She looked around the Quinjet. The last time a Quinjet had been out in space, it had blown up with both Lincoln and Ward inside it. This would have been Lincoln's last view…the man she'd loved, gazing out at the Earth as he waited for death's arms to embrace him. Daisy sincerely hoped that history wasn't going to repeat itself.

The more sensible part of her mind would have tried reassuring Daisy that she was being silly and pessimistic…but she couldn't forget Enoch's premonition during his final moments.

A frown fell on her face. She couldn't hold in her concerns any longer.

'Enoch said that this will be the team's last mission together,' Daisy said quietly, her eyes fixed on the floor.

She then looked up at Mack, who was frowning thoughtfully. He looked confused, clearly wondering how Enoch could have been so sure about such a thing.

'Even if we survive?' he asked her.

'That was…my impression, yeah,' Daisy replied.

She didn't want to elaborate. _'While your friends will indeed survive, the team…will not,'_ Enoch had said to her.

' _Your friends'_. Not, _'you all'_.

Mack considered her for a moment, then raised his eyebrows in resignation. 'Well, maybe it's time,' he said heavily, and Daisy glanced at him in confusion as he chuckled softly, as if he was happy to accept such a horrifying notion. 'We've had a crazy run.'

'What?!' Daisy said incredulously, staring at him in disbelief as she tried to force a smile on her face. 'How can you say that? It's just…that's it? Just, "talk to you later"? That…'

She trailed off hopelessly, unable to comprehend the idea. No. She wouldn't believe it. She wouldn't accept it. The future wasn't written, it wasn't set in stone – their actions in saving Daniel alone had been enough to prove that – so Enoch hadn't really known. None of them had any idea. All Daisy was sure of was that this team was a family. They had lived together and worked together for all these years, and there was no way it was just going to fall apart. She refused to let that happen.

But Mack was smiling bemusedly at her. 'Now look, we have these things called _phones_. Now, I know – I know you millennials like to use them just for taking pictures of yourselves, but…in the eighties, we actually used them to talk to each other,' he said jokingly.

Daisy frowned at him. She was seriously beginning to panic now. His attitude made no sense, no sense at all.

'I'm serious…what…' She stared at him, bewildered, unsure how to process the way this conversation was going. 'We're not just gonna turn into the…people who used to work together and, you know, and, "Well, hey, I'm in town" and, "We used to be close a long time ago"…that's…'

Daisy stopped talking and her face fell slowly as she took in Mack's expression, the way he gazed at her with such pity. It was as if he thought she was in denial, or that she was stuck in the past, refusing to move forward.

'Sounds like we might,' Mack murmured, apparently untroubled by the fact.

'Mack,' Daisy protested in a quiet, almost pleading voice. 'The…'

She averted her gaze for a moment as she tried hard to fight against the tears threatening to brim to the surface of her eyes. She didn't know what to say or what to think. All she knew was that she didn't want this. This couldn't be it. It couldn't be.

'You guys are my family,' Daisy said, gazing back up at Mack imploringly, and there was a barely audible shake in her voice as she said it.

Mack slowly looked up at her, his expression unusually gentle. He could see the pain, the fear, the panic rising in her.

'I-I don't know who I am…without you guys,' Daisy went on, and she sounded close to breaking.

'No, Daisy-' Mack began comfortingly, but Daisy cut over him, distressed.

'No, it's-' Her voice cracked, and she looked away. She was close to tears.

There was nothing he could say to reassure her. Of course she didn't know herself outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.; how could she? She had been a completely different person before Coulson had found her and recruited her as part of this team. She had grown into someone completely unrecognisable from Skye, the plucky, confident, playful hacktivist she had been in her mid-twenties. She had changed so much, and that was all because of everything she had experienced with these people who she loved so very much. Besides, they weren't just like regular co-workers at a typical day job. They didn't go to work for seven hours a day then come home to their own personal life with different friends and family who were separate from the job. This job here at S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't a job; it was a lifestyle. It was 24/7. Daisy had no home address, only S.H.I.E.L.D. bases and aircrafts. The end of the team wouldn't just mean getting a new job for Daisy; it would mean starting a whole new life, at the age of thirty-two, with nowhere to go and no friends or family to turn to. And that terrified Daisy more than any future-telling Chronicom or torture-loving member of HYDRA's most supportive family ever could.

Mack frowned at Daisy sympathetically as she tried not to cry. 'You know _exactly_ who you are,' he said firmly, and the look in his eyes told her that he truly believed it. 'With anyone.'

Daisy nodded heavily, trying to force herself to find comfort in his words.

_With anyone._

Instinctively, she turned around to look at Daniel, completely oblivious to what was going on as he continued to gaze out in wonder at the stars and the Earth. She thought back to those secluded moments alone with him, in the comfort of her dingy room in the Lighthouse, or the living space on the Zephyr…or in the intimate equipment room during the time loops, when Daniel had opened up about how he wanted to be that special someone for her…when he had shown her just how well he already knew her, and the kind of person she was. Those had been rare moments when she had put the job to the back of her mind briefly and let herself be…well, _herself_.

Daisy had never thought that she would fall in love again after Lincoln. She'd never wanted to, nor had she ever thought she could even be capable of letting herself feel such a thing again. But now?

It took her a moment to realise that Mack was groaning at her exasperatedly. 'Ugh, oof…' he murmured, an unimpressed smirk on his face as he shook his head wearily.

Daisy's eyes widened in panic. 'What?' she said innocently, glancing back and forth between Mack and Daniel, before realising too late that that wasn't helping matters.

'Really. Subtle,' Mack said sarcastically, raising his eyebrows over at Daniel.

'Stop!' Daisy whispered urgently, mortified.

'Coool,' he teased, and Daisy couldn't help laughing softly.

She knew that there was no point in denying it. Mack had always been able to see through her, like the big brother he was.

'In the…in the time loops, we…we kinda kissed,' Daisy whispered, grimacing but grinning giddily at the same time.

It felt good to speak it aloud at last, to finally tell someone. It made it seem more real, like it hadn't just been some dream or a figment of her imagination. It _had_ happened. She had kissed Daniel and Daniel had kissed her back in a way that she would never be able to forget. And now it was out there, in the open. It felt like such a relief, and yet also like she had made a monumental decision by choosing to speak about it…because now there was no more pretending, and no going back. It was almost like she was accepting – no, embracing – the fact that it would happen again someday, and she was happy with that. She didn't know for sure, and she didn't know when, but she did know how Daniel and herself both felt about each other, even if they were too shy to reveal it outside of the time loops amidst all this pandemonium going on. And that was good enough for now.

Mack was grinning at her, a bemused frown on his face. He hadn't seen her like this for so long. In fact, he wasn't sure if he had even seen her face light up this way when she'd spoken about Lincoln.

'Whatever,' Daisy said, trying to play it cool as she averted her gaze and blushed, 'he's…a dork.'

That was when Mack knew for sure. _Damn, she's got it bad._

'You see, that's messed up, 'cause he doesn't remember that,' Mack said quietly with a grin, pointing over at Daniel.

Daisy laughed as she glanced back at Daniel; it was a magical sound that Mack had missed so much. 'Then why are you smiling?' she pointed out, turning back to Mack.

''Cause Yo-Yo owes me twenty dollars,' Mack mumbled, smirking, and he chuckled as Daisy kicked his leg, mortified to think that she and Daniel had been obvious enough for Mack and Yo-Yo to notice already.

Daisy's face then fell slightly as she remembered what they had been talking about, before the pleasant diversion of Daniel. 'It won't be the same,' she murmured sadly.

'No. It won't,' Mack said with a shake of his head. 'But…that's okay.'

Daisy gazed at him, her eyes suddenly feeling rather wet again, as she nodded reluctantly. After a while, she turned back to look at Daniel.

'Do you think he'll be okay?' Daisy asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

'Sousa? I think he's gonna be just fine,' Mack said with a knowing look as he smiled at her. 'Don't you?'

Daisy looked back at him for a moment and blushed as she understood what he was insinuating. 'Yeah, I do,' she agreed after a moment, turning back to gaze over at Daniel.

As if he could feel his eyes on her, Daniel then turned around and caught Daisy's eye. Heart lurching nervously, she raised her hand and gave him a little wave. Smiling in response, Daniel then got up from his seat.

'Ooh, incoming,' Mack said quietly as Daniel left the cockpit.

'Shut up,' Daisy whispered, mortified.

'Just act natural,' Mack murmured, lips twitching, as Daniel walked over to them. 'Be cool. Look casual. You look great-'

'Mack, I swear to God-'

'Hey,' Daniel said, having reached them both.

'Hey!' Daisy said in a loud, bright voice that alarmed Daniel.

He raised his eyebrows at her. 'You seem…happy,' he noted.

Daisy glanced awkwardly at Mack. 'I'm just…glad we're still alive,' she said, forcing a smile.

Daniel stared at her for a moment. 'Wow,' he said eventually, nodding slowly. 'The bar's set really low, huh?'

Lips quivering, Daisy covered her face with her hand exasperatedly as she tried not to laugh at his comment.

Grinning, Mack then got up from his seat. 'I'm, uh, I'm just gonna check the navigation panel, just to make sure we're still locked onto the Zephyr now I've messed around with the systems,' he said. 'And we'll need to all grab some rest soon – the less talking the better.'

'How come?' Daniel asked, frowning.

'Well we don't wanna run out of oxygen,' Mack replied simply.

'Ah. Of course. Oxygen. Right,' Daniel said, a lump in his throat as he nodded and tried not to look too concerned.

Lips twitching, Mack then walked away back to the cockpit to leave the two of them alone. He turned back to wink at Daisy; she would have flipped him the finger if Daniel hadn't been stood there watching her.

'Can I…help with anything here or…?' Daniel offered, as he sat down on the floor with her and stretched his legs out, mirroring her.

'No, Mack's sorted it all but…thanks,' Daisy replied.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her; she was gazing at him unflinchingly. 'What?' he asked, feeling rather hot all of a sudden. 'Is there something on my face?'

'No. Just…'

Daisy trailed off as she remembered what he'd said to her in the time loops. _'It all fazes me, just…m-maybe not my face.'_

'Are you doing okay? Really, I mean?' Daisy asked, watching him carefully.

'Uh…yeah, I think so.' Daniel sounded confused as he said it, as if surprised by the genuineness of his answer.

'I know a trip into space isn't exactly what you were expecting when you got out of bed this morning but…don't worry, it should be fine,' Daisy said airily, but then she frowned slightly. 'Well, if all goes to plan once we get to Z1…even though, we don't exactly _have_ a plan yet…'

But Daniel had a soft expression on his face. 'I'm not worried. I'm with you. And Mack, both of you,' he added hastily, and Daisy smiled.

'I'm glad Mack's here. Not that I wasn't glad when it was just you here-'

'Well of course not.'

'-But…it just…reminds me of the old days. Mack and I were partners out in the field, before he became Director,' she explained.

'Oh, I see. Do you miss it? Having a partner?' Daniel asked.

Daisy hesitated as she thought carefully about his question; no one had asked her that before. 'Yes,' she realised. 'It's been a couple of years, but…yeah, I do.'

'Maybe you need a new one,' Daniel said, averting his gaze as he fiddled with his shoulder strap nervously.

Daisy's lips curved slightly at one end as she looked at him. 'Maybe I do.'

Daniel met her gaze and smiled back at her. He had seen how enamoured Deke was with her; no doubt he would be keen to be Daisy's new work partner out in the field. Well, he'd have to get in line.

He cleared his throat and straightened up. 'W-we should…probably get some rest. Save oxygen,' he said, and then he frowned bemusedly. 'That's…a sentence I never thought I'd say.'

He could get used to it, though, Daniel realised. He could get used to being up here, amongst the stars. It was nothing short of magical.

'Where are you gonna sleep?' Daisy asked.

'I'm not. I'm heading back to the front row seat,' Daniel said, his eyes already lighting up at the prospect as he glanced back towards the window. 'Might as well make the most of the view before everything goes to hell.'

'I like your thinking,' Daisy said, smiling in approval.

But then Daniel's face fell slightly as he looked at her. 'Daisy, are you…are you sure you're okay?' he asked her gently. 'I'm sorry, I know you said you didn't want me to mention…well…-'

'Jiaying? I'm okay. Really,' Daisy replied reassuringly.

She was surprised that it wasn't much of a lie – she really _did_ feel okay, considering. She wondered if she would have felt half as okay if Daniel hadn't been there with her this whole time. Probably not.

'I just wanna get Simmons and Deke back, and…get rid of Malick and Sybil and whoever else wants to tear our people apart,' she said, her knuckles grinding against the floor slightly at the thought. ' _Then_ I'll…I'll deal with Jiaying.'

Daniel considered her for a moment, then nodded. 'Okay. Well, I'm here if…well, whenever you wanna talk,' he said gently.

'Thank you,' Daisy murmured, her eyes and smile full of tenderness as she gazed at him. 'And, Daniel, don't…don't ever say sorry for asking me if I'm okay. You got that?'

'Got it,' Daniel said with a nod, and he smiled and placed his hand briefly on her arm as he got up to his feet. 'Get some rest. You're gonna need it.'

Daisy nodded. She couldn't argue with him there.

She watched Daniel fondly as he headed back to the cockpit, glancing back at her with a smile before joining Mack and sitting beside him, asking him how the navigation panel and flight deck systems were coping.

Propping up her backpack against the seats, Daisy then stretched herself out and leant against it, trying to get comfortable. It was only as she tried using the backpack as a pillow that she realised just how exhausted she felt. The day had been an emotionally draining one, but the trip up to space in itself had completely knocked everything out of her physically. She hoped that she would have enough energy to face Malick and Garrett when the time came.

Daisy sighed to herself as she gazed through her drooping eyes over at Mack and Daniel sat in the cockpit, thinking back to her and Mack's rather bittersweet conversation. She may be feeling lost right now at the thought of what was to come once they'd finished this mission, but it must be nothing compared to what Daniel must be feeling. He had been pulled into not just a completely new time, but a completely new world. So yes…things _would_ be different when all this was over – not just for her, but for him as well, more so than anyone else in the team.

_But maybe Mack's right,_ Daisy thought, as she gazed over at Daniel watching the stars. _Maybe it will be okay in the end._

And, with that comforting thought in mind, Daisy dozed off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter for 7x11 should be finished and posted within the next 2/3 days hopefully!
> 
> I know I've said it before but I really mean it when I say thank you so so much for everyone who is still reading this and leaving such lovely feedback. I honestly didn't expect people to carry on reading this after AoS ended, particularly now it's been a few weeks since the finale aired. I just assumed the fandom would slowly die out but your enthusiasm and generous comments are really encouraging me to keep me going with this, and it means so so much to know that people are enjoying reading it thank you! 3


	17. What Are Your Intentions?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episodes 7x11-7x12 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Daniel knew he was meant to be trying to sleep. But how could he, with this view before them? Mack was sat in the pilot's seat beside him in the cockpit, his eyes closed, his head leant against the headrest. Daniel glanced behind him; Daisy seemed to have nodded off, slouched against her backpack. He hoped it was more comfortable than it looked.

It was strangely peaceful out here. They were heading towards a fight that would most probably get them all killed, but despite that, Daniel felt extremely relaxed here, looking out at the stars and the wonderful planet beneath them. How long had he been sat here, taking it all in? He wasn't sure. Time seemed to have no meaning anymore.

'Used to hope for this, you know,' Daniel murmured to Mack, a small smile of disbelief on his face as he shook his head in wonder at the sight in front of him. 'Everyone in my time…it was a dream, but a dream we all thought-'

'Sousa,' Mack interrupted, sighing deeply.

Daniel looked around at him; he looked like he was trying to sleep.

'Preserve oxygen,' Daniel remembered, nodding. 'Copy that.'

But Mack didn't mean that. 'What are your intentions?' he asked, his eyes still closed.

Daniel looked at him. 'Sir?'

'With Daisy,' Mack clarified.

Daniel frowned, his heart thudding unevenly against his chest. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting the Director to say, but it certainly hadn't been that.

_What are your intentions?_

The question threw Daniel completely. What did Mack mean by that? What had he done to make Mack suspicious? Were his feelings _really_ that obvious? And even if Daniel _had_ failed in his effort to try and keep his affections for Daisy concealed…why did that mean he had to have any 'intentions'?

'I don't…have any…intentions,' Daniel replied, confused.

It was an honest answer. He had met an impressive, fun woman, whom he had then failed to protect from a psychopathic kidnapper who had butchered her. After that, he had pledged to himself that he would always watch out for and look after her however he could. He hadn't expected that he would begin to fall for her during this short period of time, but, looking back now, it seemed silly that he hadn't foreseen it from the moment they'd first met in his Area 51 office. She was a righteous person of high morals, high intellect, and bravery and wit like no other person he'd met. And so he had stayed by her side, because he admired her, because he enjoyed her company, and because she made him forget his woes of the end of his old life and made him relax at the thought of his new one. Inevitably, his feelings had subsequently deepened…but not once had he ever presumed that she would feel the same way.

_What are your intentions?_

Even if Daniel had suspected – or perhaps merely hoped for – a certain spark there between them…even with the way she looked at him sometimes, the way her hand would linger on his arm, the way she tried not to smile whenever he spoke…he would never try to push anything onto Daisy, to assume that she wanted the same thing, to broach the subject when she wasn't ready or uncomfortable.

So no. Daniel didn't have any intentions with Daisy. He wasn't the way he was to gain her affections; he just wanted to work with her – because she was an outstanding, capable agent – and to help her to the best of his ability, because that was who he was as a person and because he knew she deserved the care and support of others.

At Daniel's answer, Mack opened his eyes and looked round at him. His tone of voice and the look on his face told him that Sousa was being genuine.

'Well then, you better get some. And _quick_ ,' Mack said, raising his eyebrows at him. ''Cause this thing is coming for you.'

Daniel stared at him in alarm. 'This…thing?' he said, almost warily.

Mack sighed deeply, wondering whether he should tell him the truth. He could tell that Sousa was confused; he genuinely had no idea how Daisy felt. It was plainly obvious to everyone in the team other than themselves, and for some reason, this fact only made Mack warm to Sousa more. Mack knew that Daisy would probably be mad at him if he said anything more, but…they were currently floating through space, on an aircraft running out of power and oxygen, towards two deadly Inhumans wanting to kill them the first chance they got. Tomorrow was promised to no one, and Daisy deserved a shot at happiness, even if it was short-lived, before everything went to hell. And of course, there was no question about whether Sousa reciprocated her feelings. _That_ had been clear to Mack from their time in the seventies alone. It felt only right that he should know he was in with a _very_ good chance.

'She's into you,' Mack said, a soft expression on his face as he looked at Daniel.

Daniel let out a quiet intake of breath as he let Mack's words resonate with him. _'She's into you.'_ His heart and mind were both racing, trying to make sense of it, because he could hardly dare believe it to be true.

'And…I'm not even sure if she knows it yet but, pretty soon, she'll figure it out,' Mack went on.

' _Into me'? But does that actually mean what I think it means?_

Daniel slowly looked over his shoulder as Mack spoke, his eyes falling on Daisy as she slept against her backpack, completely oblivious. A slight frown fell on Daniel's face. _Him?_ Mack couldn't be right. Of all the men in the world that this incredible woman could be attracted to…she could have any one of them, and they would be lucky to have her…but _Daniel Sousa_? He was just an ordinary man. It had taken him years to gain confidence in himself after losing his leg and facing such scepticism and pity at the SSR, but he'd steadily grown to know and appreciate his own value as a man and as an agent – Peggy had helped teach him that – but still…even then, he wasn't anything that special…at least, not in comparison to Daisy Johnson. He'd known he'd been punching above his weight when he realised he'd developed feelings for her, but he'd never had to worry about that before because…well, he'd just never assumed anything would happen. Was he good enough for her? Was he worthy? He'd had the same doubts when he'd fallen for Peggy years ago…only to have them further reinforced when they'd later broken up.

It took Daniel a moment to realise that Mack was still talking, and he turned away from Daisy, trying to focus.

'And when she does,' Mack was saying, chuckling fondly, 'watch out. 'Cause when she gets something into her head-'

'She won't stop,' Daniel finished for him, a bemused frown on his face. 'Yeah, I noticed.'

Mack nodded, pleasantly surprised. Sousa really _did_ know her. Over a year may have passed for Mack since he'd first met Sousa in 1955, but from Sousa and Daisy's perspective, it had only been…a week, two weeks? Mack wasn't sure. But, even though he was certain of Sousa, he knew he had to give him The Talk. It was his duty, after all; like Daisy said…they were family.

'But listen…Daisy's been hurt. Bad,' Mack said in a low voice.

Daniel frowned sadly. He turned around again to look at Daisy, peaceful in sleep. She had told him briefly about Lincoln's death, but something in Mack's tone and the look in his eyes told him that he meant more than that. She had known tragedy and heartbreak and betrayal numerous times. And it broke Daniel to think that someone would ever cause her pain.

'So…I'm happy she's ready to dive back in, and I'm…happy it's you,' Mack said sincerely.

Daniel pulled a face as he turned back around, a little flustered. _'Dive back in'? Happy it's me?_ Mack really was assuming that Daniel was all for this…which of course he was – the idea that there was indeed a very real chance now of a romantic possibility with himself and Daisy made Daniel feel over the moon, if not still a little disbelieving – but still, it was somewhat embarrassing that the Director could read his feelings so remarkably well.

'I like you,' Mack went on, stunning Daniel. 'You seem like a good man.'

'Thanks, I-'

'Even if you're a little…y'know…straight ahead,' Mack added.

Daniel frowned, confused. 'Wait, is that bad?'

But Mack pressed on without further comment. 'But…I'm not about to let her get hurt again,' he said firmly, fixing Daniel with that commanding gaze of his. 'You hear what I'm saying?'

'I think so,' Daniel said slowly, nodding. 'I think you're…threatening me, sir.'

'No,' Mack said with a smile. 'Not just me. Every member of this team.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows, impressed. He completely understood why Mack was talking to him in this way. He wasn't just the Director, he wasn't just Daisy's boss, he was her family. They all were. And she meant the world to them all. How could she not?

'And we have technology at S.H.I.E.L.D. that you've never even seen-' Mack went on, but Daniel interrupted him.

'I hear you,' he said firmly. 'Loud and clear.'

They both nodded and turned away to look back out of the front window in silence. Suddenly the stars and the Earth seemed to have drifted to the back of Daniel's mind now as he parted his lips, trying to find the right words. He wanted to tell Mack just how much Daisy already meant to him, how he would do absolutely anything for her, but he didn't want to come across as too keen or too intense. But then again…the way Mack was talking, it was as if 'this thing' with Daisy was already set in stone, that it would only be a matter of time. The prospect stunned Daniel, but also flooded him with a certain warmth, a feeling of hope and stability…a feeling of home.

'I would never hurt her,' Daniel said, looking back at Mack.

They were simple words, and didn't by any means cover the extent of his growing feelings for Daisy, but it was crucial to Daniel that Mack knew this. It was a promise – a promise that Daniel knew he would keep forever.

Mack turned back to Daniel, and he smiled as he nodded, satisfied. He'd already known this, of course, but it was still nice to hear. Sousa was clearly a diamond in the rough, a rare kind of man who was caring and selfless. Mack couldn't wish for anyone better for Daisy.

'Hmm…imagine that,' Mack said wistfully, as he gazed out at the view ahead of them. 'The man out of time…and Quake.'

He chuckled softly to himself. He didn't notice the way Daniel frowned and looked round at him in utter bewilderment.

'It's like a damn comic book,' Mack said, amused.

'Hold on – what did you just call her?' Daniel asked, confused.

'Hmm? Uh, 'Quake', it's, uh…it's her superhero name,' Mack replied, having forgotten that Daniel still had _a lot_ to catch up on.

'Really?' Daniel said, and there was an almost sceptical look on his perplexed face.

'Yeah. Yeah, really.'

Daniel repressed a laugh as he looked away, smiling bemusedly. He pulled a face as he thought about it.

' _Quake'. And I thought 'Captain America' was bad enough._

''Quake'?' Daniel repeated, frowning at Mack.

'Mm-hmm.'

There was a slight pause as Daniel tried to process it. It was no use. He couldn't keep it in.

'Do you not hear…how…hilarious that sounds?' he asked Mack.

Mack frowned, baffled. 'Wh…' He trailed off as he thought about it.

''Quake',' Daniel said dramatically.

A second passed and then both Mack and Daniel burst out laughing, though they tried to keep it down so as not to wake Daisy sleeping behind them. Mack shook his head as he chuckled away and grabbed hold of Daniel's arm to steady himself.

'I…' Daniel said exasperatedly, before laughing again and glancing back at Daisy's sleeping figure.

'I do now,' Mack admitted, trying to control his laughter.

''Quake',' Daniel whispered again.

'Stop!' Mack begged quietly as he clutched his chest, still chuckling away. 'We'll wake her up!'

'I'm sorry, I just…really, of all the names…' Daniel murmured, shaking his head with a fond smile as he and his new friend continued to laugh.

It was nice to find someone else in the team to bond with. He'd spent a bit more time with Jemma than the others since he had joined, but it was mainly Daisy who he had always gravitated towards, at first simply because she'd been a comforting presence for him. He'd hardly had any time spent alone with Mack, and he hadn't expected the Director to be so fun and easy to get along with. He hoped that they would be able to spend more time together once they moved onto the next mission…if they were to miraculously all get through this one alive.

'You sure you're still interested in her now you know about the name?' Mack said, still chuckling.

Daniel laughed softly as he gazed back out at the surface of the planet. 'I…I think I'd be the luckiest guy in the world, regardless of her name,' he said.

At this, Mack slowly stopped chuckling and he gazed at Sousa, a fond smile on his face. 'Huh. You got it just as bad as her,' he murmured. Maybe even more, he reckoned.

Daniel frowned at him. 'What do you mean?'

'Eh, no doubt you'll find out soon enough,' Mack said, smirking to himself as he turned back to the window.

Daniel swallowed nervously as he glanced back and forth between Mack and Daisy, still in disbelief. _'She's into you.'_ Mack really had no idea how such simple words could fill Daniel with such hope and joy…and scepticism.

'Does she really…I mean, did she actually say…?' Daniel trailed off and shook his head, annoyed with himself; he didn't want to act like a nervous, lovestruck fool in front of the Director, but he was doing a pretty bad job of it. 'I just mean…what you said about Daisy…you're not pulling my leg, are you? No pun intended.'

He indicated his prosthetic leg. Mack stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing again.

'No, I'm not pulling your leg,' he said, chuckling, as he clapped him on the shoulder. 'I like you, Sousa. Wish you'd joined us on this ride a little sooner. Though of course, I'm…I'm sorry about what we had to do to bring you here.'

But Daniel shook his head. 'Don't be. I was meant to die, but you broke the rules to stop that from happening. You all saved me, in more ways than one. Thank you for making that call, sir,' he said sincerely, feeling a lump rise in his throat as he looked directly at Mack.

Mack considered him for a moment and then nodded slowly. 'I can safely say – and I think Daisy will certainly agree with me, along with the rest of the team – that it's one of the best decisions I've made as Director,' he said warmly.

Daniel's lips parted. Before he could think of how to process, let alone respond, to such touching words, there was then a beep from the monitor on the navigation panel; it was the Zephyr's signal.

'We're close,' Mack said in surprise, checking the readings on the monitor.

Daniel turned around in his seat. 'Shall I wake Daisy?'

'Think you'd better,' Mack replied. 'I'll give you guys a shout when I get visual confirmation.'

Daniel left the cockpit and walked over to Daisy at the back of the Quinjet, slumped against her backpack. He bent down so that he was on her level, and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

'Hey,' he murmured softly, as Daisy's eyelids fluttered open.

'Hey,' she whispered groggily, slowly sitting up. 'Is everything okay?'

'Yeah. We're nearly there.'

'Oh. Already? That went faster than I thought it would,' Daisy said, suddenly alert as she sat up straight, trying not to register how scared she felt at what they might find on the Zephyr.

'How did you sleep?' Daniel asked, as they both stood up.

'Not too bad,' Daisy replied, suppressing a yawn. 'I managed to get some, at least.'

'I'm amazed you did, that does _not_ look comfy,' Daniel said, eyeing her backpack sceptically.

Daisy smirked at him slightly, then bent down to open her backpack and retrieve her gear so that she could prepare. They sat down side-by-side on two of the seats, and Daniel's heart raced uncontrollably. He still couldn't really believe what Mack had said…could Daisy _really_ have feelings for him? Then he had to remind himself that he was a thirty-six year old man, not a silly pining teenager.

He tilted his head at her curiously as Daisy got out her gauntlets.

'What are they for?' he asked, interested.

'They, uh…they help absorb my powers so I don't hurt myself and…well, they also help me aim better. With the shockwaves, y'know,' Daisy replied.

Daniel looked rather uneasy. 'What do you mean, hurt yourself?'

'Uh…well, at first, whenever I tried to…contain my powers I'd get bruises, all down my hands and arms. It was kinda bad, they…I couldn't control it, and…I almost shattered my bones,' Daisy said, grimacing.

'Oh,' Daniel said, his brow furrowed in concern. 'That sounds terrible.'

'It wasn't the best. But…I got a hang of it…eventually. And these really help,' Daisy said, holding out the gauntlets on her lap.

'How do they work exactly?' Daniel asked, and he seemed fascinated.

'Fitz and Simmons designed them for me – they're made of compressed microfibers and sort of, like, give off minor electricity discharges to keep me from hurting myself…or something like that anyway,' Daisy explained, passing the gauntlets over to him so he could have a better look. 'They protect me from the side effects of the powers and stop me from causing any major…damage – n-not that I've caused any earthquakes in the past or anything, it's fine – but…they also help me project the waves better. I can feel the vibrations more precisely with them. It's…pretty cool.'

Daniel looked awestruck as he studied the gauntlets in his hands. ' _Wow_ ,' he said, making Daisy smile. 'That's incredible. It's genius!'

'You should say that in front of Simmons, it'll honestly make her so happy,' Daisy said, but then her smile faded as the worry began to seep back in. 'God, I hope she's okay.'

Daniel looked at her sympathetically. 'She will be. She's strong,' he said firmly, 'and Deke's there with her.'

Daisy grimaced at him. 'I know you think that should be reassuring, but…it isn't.'

'Eh, I think you're a little harsh on the guy. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met,' Daniel said, making Daisy's lips part as she realised that he had a very good point. 'And from what I've seen I'd say he even loves Simmons…if he didn't have a _very_ obvious soft spot for you.'

Daisy gave him a sceptical look at his last comment, pleasantly surprised to see his lips twitch almost playfully at her, but then her eyes widened as she caught on with the rest of what he'd just said. 'Oh…oh, yeah, you've got that wrong – Deke _does_ love Simmons, but…not in that way. Deke is Simmons' grandson,' she explained.

Daniel stared at her for a moment. 'Wh…I may have misheard you there, did you just say-?'

'Grandson, yup,' Daisy said, nodding.

'Oookay,' Daniel said slowly, completely baffled. 'H-how…?'

'I don't know what to tell you,' Daisy said with a shrug, 'he came back with us from 2091 and found out Fitz and Simmons were his grandparents.'

Daniel's expression seemed to have frozen. He wondered if there would ever come a day in this new life of his where he wasn't completely thrown by something someone said. He suspected probably not.

'Okay, well…that settles it,' he said wearily, 'I'm gonna need a drink when this is over and you catch me up on everything you and this team have been through-'

'Think we'll actually need a dozen drinks for that,' Daisy muttered, her lips twitching.

'Deal,' Daniel said, trying to appear casual, and Daisy's heart leapt. 'Anyway, my point still stands – Deke will be watching out for her.'

'I know. I know. You're right,' Daisy said, sighing, and she looked at him anxiously. 'I just…I hope I'm back to full strength. Simmons said I'm still not 100% after what he did last week, and Malick's had a long time to develop his powers. What if he's there when we get to the Zephyr and I can't-'

Daniel cut over her firmly. 'Don't think like that. You know you're good. You know you can beat him. And you also know you've got me and Mack with you. You're not in this fight alone. We'll-' But then he broke off, looking horrified. 'Oh, shit.'

'What is it?' Daisy asked, alarmed, as Daniel jumped to his feet, looking agitated.

'I…I'm so sorry for swearing, I just…' He paced a few steps, running a hand through his hair, and groaned, absolutely furious with himself. 'I guess I was so preoccupied with us flying out to space and all that I forgot to go back for the one thing I actually need – my gun.'

But Daisy was smiling. 'Oh, don't worry about that. Look in the bag.'

Frowning, Daniel did as she said, and bent down to look in her unzipped backpack. His lips parted in pleasant surprise; she'd packed two handguns and a small box of bullets. Daniel slowly looked up at her with a bemused frown and a hint of a suspicious smile on his face.

'Huh,' was all he could say.

Daisy looked up from her gauntlets. 'What?'

'I'm just wondering…why would you need a gun, if you originally planned to do this by yourself?' he asked, feigning curiosity as he frowned at her and straightened up, the guns and bullets in his hand.

Daisy blinked rapidly but recovered her expression quite quickly. 'Just…in case something went wrong with my powers. Y'know,' she replied casually, internally grateful that the lights had powered off so that he couldn't see her blush.

'Right. Well, thanks,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows as he turned back to the guns. 'It's…very convenient that you thought to bring these.'

'Well I always like to be prepared,' Daisy said, averting her gaze. 'Anyway, I'd, uh…I'd better put these on.'

She could feel herself going red as she fixed her attention solely on the gauntlets; normally she would have been irritated with herself for blushing, but instead she could feel her lips inexplicably forming a smile. Amused, Daniel walked over to the other side and got out the bullets to load his guns. She'd known all along – and possibly even hoped – that he would have offered to come on this mission with her. And, despite all her protests and worrying, she must have truly wanted him to come as well, otherwise why else would she have packed the guns in the first place? A small smile fell on Daniel's lips. Perhaps Mack _was_ right about Daisy after all.

'I have a visual on Z1,' Mack then called to them both from the cockpit. 'We're a few minutes out. Be prepped for docking.'

As she finished attaching her gauntlets, Daisy got up hesitantly from her seat; life was too short for her to hide away in embarrassment. 'Hey,' she said, glancing at Daniel.

Daniel paused with one of his guns and looked up at her. His heart leapt at the tender expression on her face.

'Thank you,' Daisy said sincerely.

'For what?' Daniel asked.

'Just…being here,' Daisy murmured shyly, her voice shaking with nerves ever so slightly.

He watched, stunned, as she averted her gaze and smiled, trying to keep herself occupied with the gauntlets on her arms. He wondered if he would have noticed her behaviour, if Mack hadn't mentioned anything to him earlier, or if he would have continued on obliviously. He had to admit, it was probably the latter.

'Hm, it was nothing, but…you're welcome,' Daniel said, smiling briefly at her before turning back to his gun and adding pointedly, 'Quake.'

Daisy looked up from her gauntlets with a slight frown and almost did a double take. _Did he just call me 'Quake'?_

'Sorry, what, now?' she said, a confused half-smile on her face as she turned towards him.

'Nothing,' Daniel replied innocently, 'just happy to help, Quake, whatever you need.'

Perplexed, Daisy glanced to Mack with wide eyes; he hadn't turned around from the cockpit, but she could make out his shoulders shaking slightly, as if he were trying not to laugh. She turned back to Daniel with a smile, completely nonplussed, and it amused him to see her so taken aback by this different side of him.

'Are you being funny?' she asked bemusedly.

Daniel glanced up at her from his gun.

_What are your intentions?_

Daniel wasn't a flirtatious man by nature; he was polite, shy, grounded and respectful. But he could be charming when he wanted to be – after all, he'd once become engaged to a lovely nurse called Violet after merely six months of knowing her back in the late forties, so he must be able to do _something_ right – and now he knew that Daisy reciprocated his feelings? Well, perhaps it was time to see if he'd still got it.

' _You better get some. And quick,'_ Mack had told him.

So he did.

Daniel pretended to look confused. 'Uh, is it funny? Not if that's what you like to be called,' he said, loading his gun in one impressively slick motion as he stepped towards her, 'Quake.'

As he spoke, Daniel closed the distance between them until he was stood merely inches from Daisy, and he looked up at her with a devastating smirk and a playful glint in his eyes that left Daisy completely floundering. She had never been more attracted to him than in this moment – and _that_ was saying something.

'I-' She broke off, caught totally unawares; where had this playful confidence come from? 'The press called me that, I never-'

But Daniel cut over her. 'I think you should probably put a 'Q' on your utility belt?' he suggested playfully as he looked her up and down, and Daisy gazed up at him in awe, her mouth open and her eyes wide with lust. 'So people know it's you.'

He glanced back down at her belt, making no effort to hide his appreciation of her figure-forming suit, before looking back into her eyes with a flirtatious smile that made her heart stop beating for a second.

Daisy was almost speechless. She'd known that he was witty, she'd even seen a small glimpse of his playful side beforehand, but _this_ was something else entirely. In the space of merely a few seconds, Daniel had turned from his usual kind, serious, gentlemanly self to cocky, teasing and flirtatious, and it both shocked and excited her. She'd thought that he'd been perfect enough before this, but now? This sense of humour, this flirting, this new confident attitude he could slip into? It was just another cherry on what was already a pretty marvellous cake that she was finding increasingly harder to resist.

She grinned at him, trying but failing to suppress a laugh of disbelief. 'That's really smart. Yeah,' Daisy said, matching his flirty tone. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah – make fun of the person who can _literally_ turn you to dust.'

As she said it, she prodded a finger on his chest and poked him away, making both their hearts race. She smirked as he glanced down at her finger and took a step back briefly.

'Yeah, you can quake me. No, I get it,' Daniel said, nearing towards her again and raising his eyebrows, that playful glint still in his eyes as he tilted his head at her. 'That's…why they call you that.'

It was in that moment when it hit Daisy that Daniel had never once felt threatened or in any way intimidated by her powers. If anything, it only seemed to make him more attracted to her.

Daisy tilted her head at him, a huge smile on her face. A part of her was met with an urge to crush her lips to his, perhaps even rip that blue shirt open. If Mack hadn't been sat a few metres from them, chuckling away at their blatant flirting, perhaps she might have even done it. The look in Daniel's eyes told her that he certainly wouldn't have opposed. But before either of them could act on such an impulse, they were distracted by the sound of a blast up ahead.

Daisy and Daniel both tore their eyes away from each other and looked up at the ceiling; it sounded like it was coming from above the Quinjet. Daisy hoped it was just meteorites falling, but for some reason she doubted it.

'Mack, what's happening?' she asked urgently, as she aircraft rattled all around them, and she and Daniel hurried up to the cockpit.

'You tell me,' Mack replied, sounding anxious, as all three of them looked out of the window.

And then they saw it – right beside the Zephyr, a huge ball of white swirling light had appeared. It looked like some sort of portal. And then the fleet of Chronicom spaceships materialized before their very eyes.

Daisy's face fell in horror. 'That's why he came up here,' she realised.

'To call reinforcements,' Mack said darkly.

'The Chronicoms?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows. 'But…but how? I thought Coulson blew them up in 1976?'

'Obviously they survived,' Daisy whispered, staring fearfully at the Chronicom fleet floating not too far ahead from them.

'Sybil must have predicted what Coulson would do and prepared in advance,' Mack said darkly. 'These must be a fleet of back-up Hunters…'

'To work with Malick,' Daisy finished for him, sounding enraged.

'So…why does Malick need them, what's their plan-?'

Before Daniel had time to finish his question, the Chronicom ships then started firing at the planet. Streams of hot orange light were beaming down, hitting various locations. They could hear the blasts even from way up here, and it shook the Quinjet violently as they continued to fly towards the Zephyr.

Daniel sank to his knees, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. 'Are those…space lasers?'

'Just lasers that happen to be in space,' Daisy replied, trying not to dwell on the fact that they were flying towards the deadly fleet that happened to be attacking the planet.

'But they're weapons, right?' Daniel said, crouching behind her seat and trying not to panic as they all stared out at the view outside that was suddenly the very opposite of beautiful.

'100%,' Daisy said, breathing heavily, and she frowned. 'But…they don't seem to be aimed at us, which means they probably don't see us yet.'

'I hope that's still true after I do this,' Mack said, reaching up to flick on some of the switches.

Daniel turned around, surprised to see the lights and monitors coming back on; they were powering back up, the systems rebooting, the engines whirring back to life.

'All right, we got less than a minute before we dock with the Zephyr…or the other thing's gonna happen,' Mack said darkly.

Daniel closed his eyes, the full extent of what they were letting themselves in for only just beginning to hit him now. The idea of managing to take back the Zephyr and rescuing Jemma and Deke from two deadly Inhumans had been hard enough to swallow, but now that an army of Chronicoms had appeared with lasers and weapons firing down on the planet…it just seemed impossible.

'Let's say we manage to…dock with the Zephyr, and somehow rescue Simmons and Deke…then what?' Daniel asked.

Mack glanced at Daniel and then back to the window, closing his eyes briefly and nodding. 'Just…one problem at a time,' he replied, frowning.

'Here we go,' Daisy said breathlessly, flicking more switches on the panel as she focussed on the signal of the Zephyr. 'Three…two…one…'

Daniel took a deep breath as Daisy lifted up the levers and locked onto the roof of the Zephyr, guiding the Quinjet slowly but surely towards it while the Chronicoms' lasers continued to fire down all around them. He held onto the walls but managed to keep his balance as they landed rather shakily onto the roof. There was a rumble and a stunned silence, and Daisy exhaled shakily in relief as she looked round at Mack in surprise.

Mack smiled proudly and reached out to grab her arm. 'Nice flying, Tremors,' he said.

Daniel let out a relieved sigh and gazed at Daisy, immensely impressed; were there no limits to what she could do? 'I thought it was 'Quake',' he said, smiling.

But before Daisy could respond, there was a violent rumble as the Quinjet shook, knocking Daniel backwards to the floor.

'What was that? Are we hit?' Mack asked urgently.

'No,' Daisy replied in a voice filled with dread. 'I think they've locked onto the Zephyr.'

Daniel looked up slowly in horror. A bright blue light was shining down at them, and through the front window they could see that the biggest Chronicom ship was looming above them, beaming them up. They were being captured.

'Oh my God, you have gotta be kidding me,' Daisy muttered, looking out of the windows as they were beamed up into the ship.

The ship's hangar was immense, and like nothing Daisy had ever seen. It was the size of ten football stadiums, with a huge ceiling and beaming lights shining on them everywhere as the Zephyr was guided to the very centre. So much for the sneak attack approach that Daisy had originally intended.

When they landed and the beam dropped them lightly on the hangar floor, Daniel reached out to hold onto Daisy's seat. 'So…I guess this is the next problem,' he said.

Daisy let out a shaky breath as she looked round at Mack. The situation was worse than she could ever have predicted it would turn out to be. This had been her idea. If anything happened to either of them, it would be all her fault. Again.

'Where do you think they are? The Chronicoms?' Mack asked.

'I don't know, I can't see anyone moving out there,' Daisy said, frowning as she looked out of the windows. 'But why else would they bring us up here?'

In the distance they could still hear the booms of the Chronicoms' attacks on the planet. The sound made Daniel feel very cold and empty inside.

'I have to ask…do we have any idea what they might be targeting out there?' Daniel said tentatively, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

'Well…now we're here, I can try and hack into their navigation system, see what locations those lasers are locked onto,' Daisy said, tapping away hurriedly on the screen as Mack kept an eye out through the window for anyone approaching in the hangar. 'There, I'm in.'

'That was quick,' Daniel said in surprise.

Mack raised his eyebrows at him. 'She's very good at hacking.'

But Daisy's face had fallen as she stared at the screen. 'Oh, no…'

'What? What is it?' Daniel asked, moving towards her as he peered over at the screen, his cheek close to touching hers.

'They're aiming at S.H.I.E.L.D bases,' Daisy said, her voice shaking, staring with wide eyes at the lasers' signal destinations on the navigation panel monitor. 'Oh my God, the Lighthouse! It may be too late for us, but we can still warn the others-'

'The Lighthouse can withstand any nuclear attack, it was built for that purpose. Th-they'll be fine,' Mack said, though his voice broke.

'But what about the others? All the other facilities, all the other agents?' Daniel asked urgently, horrified, as he looked back and forth between the two pilots. 'How do we stop them? They're attacking-'

'It's too late,' Mack interrupted in a shaking voice, closing his eyes as if to try and block out the sight and sound of the attack. 'There's nothing we can do.'

'It's already happened,' Daisy breathed, staring at the laser tracking signals on the monitor in dismay.

Daniel exhaled shakily as he tried to steady himself, his hand catching Daisy's briefly as they stayed there in stunned silence. All they could do was sit by helplessly and wait for the Chronicoms or Malick (or indeed both) to come knocking on the Quinjet to take them in as S.H.I.E.L.D. – the agency that had become both Daisy's and Daniel's life, home and purpose – was turned to dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! Next chapter should be ready in a few days :) thanks again for reading and all your lovely comments!!


	18. A Kiss Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x12 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slightly shorter chapter than usual but it seemed to work out best pacing-wise this way when I planned out the content for 7x12. I'll be finishing off and posting the next chapter in the next couple of days :)   
> Hope you enjoy and thanks as always for reading and lovely feedback!

Daisy was the one to break the silence. 'W-well that's the final straw, then, isn't it? We need to find a way to stop this timeline, or-or reset everything, or…well, just _something_!'

'I-I mean…I'd have thought…you not being born would be the final straw…?' Daniel said, raising an eyebrow at her.

'This is bigger than just me,' Daisy said agitatedly. 'The whole of S.H.I.E.L.D. is being destroyed out there.'

'We don't know that for sure, the system might be wrong,' Mack said, sounding desperate; he was in denial, and Daniel could hardly blame him.

'And if it isn't? This will change everything,' Daisy said, panic-stricken, as she looked across at Mack. 'I can't even _begin_ to imagine the consequences for all the shit that goes down in our time if S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't exist to stop it…Mack, we need to go back to 1931. Stop all this from ever happening.'

'Daisy, we can't, you know that. The time drive stopped working, and even then it was only programmed to follow the Chronicoms,' Mack said in defeat, 'we can't control it ourselves, we can't go back to the past-'

But Daisy cut over him in earnest. 'Well we've gotta try something! This can't be it. We're not giving up. We'll get Simmons and Deke back, and they'll figure out a way to get the original timeline back. It's the only way out of this,' she said, breathing heavily as she stared out of the cockpit window into the Chronicoms' ship hangar, before turning around to face Daniel. 'And no, that doesn't mean we'll be leaving you in 1955 to die. I would never let that happen.'

A small smile fell on Daniel's lips. 'I know.'

Nodding, Daisy then got up from her seat; Daniel straightened up as well as she turned to leave the cockpit. 'Now come on…there's no point in sitting around waiting. If they're coming for us, they're coming for us. Might as well get ready for it,' she said bracingly, and she turned to Mack, who was unresponsive. 'Mack. You with us?'

There was a moment of silence, but then eventually Mack caught up with what she had said. He looked up and gave her and Daniel both a shaky nod. Daniel gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, wishing there was more he could do; as Director, Mack was clearly feeling the loss extremely hard after what had just happened to the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases back on the planet.

Figuring that the Chronicoms or Malick would be soon gathering outside the Quinjet doors to either take them in or kill them, the three of them quickly went to fetch their weapons to prepare. Mack had brought multiple guns and even knives in his bag; he lent Daniel one of the latter, which Daniel stuffed in his belt in case he ran out of bullets or lost his guns. While Mack loaded his shotgun axe – yes, Daniel did a double take and had to check for certain that the firearms in Mack's hands was indeed both a shotgun and an axe – Daniel sidled up to Daisy, both guns she'd packed for him already held out in his hands.

'Are you all right?' he asked, surprised by how reserved she seemed now as they got ready for the inevitable attack. 'You seem quite…calm…considering what just-'

'What just happened out there isn't gonna stick, because we won't let it,' Daisy interrupted firmly, checking her gauntlets were fitted onto her forearms properly. 'We'll fix the timeline. I know we will.'

Daniel nodded. He believed in her, even if what she was saying was both unrealistic and overly optimistic, considering their current predicament.

Sensing that Daisy wanted a change of subject, Daniel then took another step towards her tentatively. 'So…what do I call you now? There are so many options…Agent Johnson, Quake, now I hear Mack calls you 'Tremors'…'

Daisy turned slowly to face him, her eyes and lips smiling at him slightly in spite of how worked up she was feeling deep inside. 'You know, another nickname I had for a while was 'Destroyer of Worlds',' she said, matching his playful tone. 'Deke's from a different timeline where I kinda quaked the entire planet apart. We stopped that timeline from ever happening, don't worry.'

''Destroyer of Worlds',' Daniel said thoughtfully, frowning as he considered it. 'Is it weird that I find that…?'

He trailed off awkwardly, knowing from Daisy's raised eyebrows that he didn't need to finish his sentence; they both knew what he meant.

'Yes. Very,' Daisy replied, a hint of a smirk on her face; she was still alarmed by this new flirty side of him.

'A hell of a lot better than 'Quake', you gotta admit,' Daniel said with a tilt of his head.

'Oh, really?' Daisy said, stepping closer to him. 'Well-'

'Come on, you two, focus,' Mack interrupted sharply with a roll of his eyes; Daisy and Daniel jumped apart as he walked between them to face the Quinjet doors. 'They may be waiting out there for us, but we sure ain't going down without a fight, you got that?'

'Absolutely, sir,' Daniel replied, pleased to see that Mack was recovering from the initial shock of the Chronicoms' attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases.

Mack frowned at him exasperatedly. 'Sousa, just drop the formalities already, will you?'

'Got it. Mack,' Daniel added hastily, and Daisy's lips twitched.

'Good. Now they'll be expecting us to hide, but we're not gonna give them that satisfaction,' Mack said firmly, glancing between them both as they stood there looking at the doors. 'We'll be ready for them…whether it's Malick and Garrett from the Z1 below…or those Chronicom nut-jobs from out there.'

'Do you really think they'll be expecting us to hide from them though?' Daniel said, frowning. 'I mean…they must have known we'd come in the first place – they pulled us in, they were expecting us. We didn't exactly have the element of surprise like we wanted.'

'W-well we don't know that,' Daisy said, 'they might have only brought Z1 up here to bring Malick on board, not because they saw us landing on top…'

'But Sybil can tell the future, and she knows us. She can predict what we'll do, like you say,' Daniel said, his brow furrowed in concern.

'But that's the whole point, that's why we didn't act predictably,' Daisy said, a hint of desperation in her voice. 'I abandoned my sister-'

'-For Jemma, though. Sybil might have foreseen that,' Daniel pointed out, and Daisy's face fell slightly. 'And I didn't act unpredictably at all.'

'Wh-what do you mean?' Daisy asked, her heartrate quickening slightly.

'Well…I followed you,' Daniel replied, and as he met her gaze, Daisy's parted lips smiled for the briefest of moments.

Suddenly remembering that Mack was stood there between them, Daisy blinked rapidly and shook her head. 'But those are decisions we made with our emotions, not with our heads. That's why it goes against these stupid…character profiles she'll have assumed for us based on the projections.'

'Exactly, Chronicoms don't understand matters of the heart,' Mack interjected.

'Pretty deep, Mack,' Daisy said with raised eyebrows, and he shrugged.

'What about Enoch?' Daniel pointed out.

'Okay, except Enoch,' Mack said, sighing deeply. 'Now, weapons out. They're most likely already out there waiting to ambush us.'

'Who? Malick, Garrett, or the Chronicom Hunters?' Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows.

Mack gave Daisy an awkward sideways glance. 'Uh…yes,' he replied.

Daniel barely refrained from rolling his eyes. 'Great,' he said, holding out his guns as they waited for the Quinjet doors to open and the enemy to come barging in.

They stood there in a line, Daisy with her arms outstretched, ready to fire out shockwaves with her gauntlets at a moments' notice, Mack with his shotgun axe at the ready, and Daniel with his two guns held out. It was so pathetic that it might have even looked amusing, if it weren't for the fact that the enemy was most likely waiting for them on the other side of the Quinjet's doors, with an entourage of Inhuman powers and deadly Chronicom weapons. The tense silence as they waited soon got unbearable.

'Is it possible they're on the other side doing the exact same thing?' Daniel asked them both awkwardly, after a while.

Daisy and Mack glanced at each other; he had a valid point. With a heavy heart, Mack crossed over to the wall and slammed his hand against the button to release the Quinjet doors; they might as well get this over with, after all.

The doors slowly slid open with a loud hiss, to reveal…nothing.

Daisy, Daniel and Mack all looked at each other in surprise. They had been expecting someone from Malick's crew to be there at the very least; there was no way that they wouldn't have heard or seen the Quinjet landing on top of them after all. But there was no one waiting for them. No Chronicoms, no Inhumans, nothing.

They took a few tentative steps forward.

'Could it be a trap?' Daniel asked quietly.

'I'm not sure,' Mack murmured.

Daisy raised her eyebrows. 'Only one way to find out,' she said, and she led the way out onto the Zephyr; Daniel couldn't help smiling as he followed her.

They headed first to the command bridge on their tiptoes, weapons held upright. The whole place was plunged in darkness. Daisy found a dead body – someone from Malick's crew, she assumed – but other than that it was completely empty. They then split up, keeping deadly silent, to check the rest of the Zephyr, only to find that the bunks, the L.M.D. lab, the medical bay, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the living space, and the loading bay were all empty.

Once they had determined that they were alone on the Zephyr, Mack headed back to the command bridge to remove the dead body and scan the Chronicom ship that they had been pulled into, to see if they could trace where Jemma and Deke had been moved to. Although their friends weren't here, it was somewhat reassuring to know that Malick and the Chronicoms mustn't have traced or noticed Daisy, Daniel and Mack when they landed; they still had the element of surprise – for now, at least.

Still feeling rather despondent at the lack of Jemma and Deke, Daisy took another quick look around the aircraft to see if she could find any clues as to what had happened. But there were no traces at all.

_What happened here? Where did they take them?_

Daisy knew that Mack needed her in the command bridge, but she didn't want him to see her so consumed with worry like this. She paused in the equipment room; she needed to take a moment. She leant against the healing chamber and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on taking deep breaths…in and out…in and out…

And then there was a gentle tap on the wall.

'Hey,' Daniel said quietly.

A slight smile had appeared on Daisy's face before she even opened her eyes. She looked up at him stood in the open doorway, knowing that there was no point in putting on any kind of mask or pretending that she was truly all right. His expression was soft, tender, full of understanding and sympathy. She was so glad he was here, and yet she hated herself for thinking something so selfish, when she knew his very presence here put his life at terrible risk. The chances of them all getting out of this Chronicom hangar alive were extremely low, after all.

'Hey,' she murmured, her voice quiet and resigned.

'We'll find them,' Daniel said softly.

Daisy forced herself to nod. 'I hope so,' she said, her voice tremoring slightly as she tried to smile at him.

There was a comfortable silence as Daisy looked down at her feet, the only sound in the room that of her deep breathing. Daniel took a few steps forward, and Daisy fiddled with her gauntlets nervously as she watched his eyes fall on the healing chamber behind her. She thought of what Jemma had told her, how worried Daniel had been when Daisy had first gone in the chamber, how he'd insisted on staying by her side, how he'd sat there every time she went back in there just to make sure she was all right. She wondered if he was almost as traumatised by the sight of that chamber now as she was.

'I haven't been in this room since the time loops,' Daisy said, clearing her throat slightly as she looked around the small room. 'It's strange.'

'Must be,' Daniel said, frowning bemusedly as he looked around as well.

'Y-you were always over there when I woke up, sat in that chair,' Daisy murmured, before she had time to think about it, and she kept her eyes fixed firmly on that steel chair as she felt Daniel's captivated gaze turn to her. 'Every time it reset. You were so damn tired but…you always asked why I was out of bed and…if I needed help and…'

She trailed off and smiled fondly to herself, lost in memory.

' _When people like you run into those walls, you should have someone there to pick you back up.'_

' _And you…you like to…be that…someone?'_

' _Not for everyone.'_

She remembered how she'd almost started to cry when he'd said those last three words. She hadn't been used to people caring about her, specifically her, so unconditionally…at least, not without hurting her or ending up dead. Daisy looked back up at him now and knew that, time loop or no time loop, those words had still been spoken. He had meant them, and he felt them right now.

Daniel couldn't quite make out the look in Daisy's eyes as he gazed over at her, but it intrigued him. His lips parted slightly as he slowly closed the distance between them, and he could practically feel her heartbeat matching the rapid rate of his own as he approached. He swallowed nervously as he gazed at her, wondering whether he dared reach out to hold her hand.

'What else did I do?' he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

His tone was more curious than playful; Daisy could tell that he genuinely wanted to know what it was that must have happened between them in those stolen moments that time forgot. She gazed up at him from under her eyelashes, and her heart skipped a beat; he was stood almost as closely to her as he had been right after she'd kissed him in the time loops, with that same look on his face. Daisy felt the slightest of smiles flicker briefly on her face as his fingers brushed lightly against the back of her hand. She realised then that their faces had got closer…her eyes fell to his lips… –

'Daisy. Can you get in here?' came Mack's voice from the comms, making both Daisy and Daniel jump away from each other at once. 'I could do with some help getting this scanner up and running.'

Speechless, Daisy leaned away from Daniel, gave him a flustered look as she tried (but failed) not to smile, then dashed off to help Mack. Heart still racing, Daniel stayed there in the equipment room for a moment, dazed, before turning and following her.

Luckily, Daisy had stopped blushing by the time she and Daniel joined Mack on the command bridge, and after merely a few seconds tapping away on the control panel, she managed to get the scanner set up. The three of them converged to survey the monitor; on the screen they could make out hundreds of blue heat signatures on the vast Chronicom ship surrounding them.

'That's a lot of Chronicoms,' Mack said darkly, as they all stared in horror at the screen.

Daisy sighed helplessly as she typed away on the control panel. 'We just have to find…there,' she said, as the screen moved to a different area of the ship, and her eyes lit up with hope slightly. 'Now, you see how those two are warmer?'

Daniel could see; the heat signatures of the two life forms were orange rather than blue, and they seemed to be being held in some sort of cell, according to the ship's layout mapped out on the screen.

'I'm pretty sure that's Simmons and Deke,' Daisy said, feeling relieved: _they're alive_.

But then Daniel frowned as he spotted a similar orange heat signature showing up at the other end of the screen, a few levels up on a different corner of the ship. 'What about that one, there?' he asked.

Daisy's heart sank as she zoomed in. 'Kora,' she whispered.

Mack looked at her in concern; having a twisted, volatile member of Daisy's biological family on board would no doubt complicate the mission in ways he didn't want to imagine. 'How'd she get up here?'

But Daisy shook her head. 'I don't care. She's not gonna stop me from getting back Simmons,' she said determinedly, straightening up.

'And Deke,' Mack added.

'Sure.'

'So…how are we gonna do this?' Daniel asked, exhaling deeply.

'Well they don't know we're here, so I'll infiltrate the ship and I'll bring them back,' Daisy said, in a tone that said there was no room for debate on this.

A moment passed as Mack and Daniel both looked at her. Daniel knew from the look in her eyes that there was no point in questioning her or trying in any way to stop her. And he also knew deep down, despite how worried he was for her, that she was right. She was far stronger than either him or Mack. She could handle this on her own.

'Okay,' Mack said in resignation, nodding.

Daisy nodded back at him, swallowing nervously. She was grateful that neither he or Daniel protested; she could do without an argument before running headlong into a fight. But she couldn't meet Daniel's gaze, because she knew that if her eyes met his she would either want to stay here with him or ask him to come with her, and she could do neither of those things. There was a good chance that she could die out there, or at least that she would be captured and never come back. They all knew that.

'I'll figure out a way to get the hangar doors open,' Mack said. 'Seems they're our only way out.'

'I can help with that,' Daniel said, looking at Mack, who gave him an appreciative nod.

Daisy flashed him the briefest of smiles, grateful that he wasn't doing what he usually would have done by insisting that he come with her. She could tell he knew that he would only get in the way if he came with her; she would have spent the whole time preoccupied trying to keep Daniel safe from any attacking Chronicoms (or Inhumans), thereby compromising the mission. She appreciated how difficult it must be for him to go against his instinct and let her walk off into danger alone, but it only made her appreciate him even more. He could be useful to Mack by helping defend the Zephyr and work on their escape plan; he would be good at that.

'Great,' Daisy said, nodding. 'I'll be back.'

She looked at Daniel; he gazed back at her and nodded nervously. Their eyes lingered, a million things unsaid passing between them in that brief moment, before Daisy forced herself to turn away, as if embarrassed that she was revealing too much of how she really felt. It was the first time since they'd met that Daniel was choosing not to follow her, because he knew that that wasn't what she wanted, and she was grateful…but it didn't mean that it didn't pain both of them.

The moment she looked away, Daniel frowned to himself, wondering if perhaps he should have said something, if he'd just messed up his last chance to talk to her. The problem was, if he opened his mouth to speak before she went out to do this unspeakably dangerous thing, he was worried that he would end up pouring his heart out, and that was certainly not what she needed right now.

Daisy picked up one of the small tablets from the control panel and connected it to the monitor, so that she could follow the ship's map and find Jemma and Deke by tracing their heat signatures. While her device beeped as she hopped down from the steps and Mack bent down to the control panel to work on a solution to the hangar doors, Daniel stared ahead of him for a moment, seeing nothing.

His face was utterly torn. He didn't know what to say or do. He couldn't just let her leave like this. He knew Daisy's type; she was the kind of person who would try to save anyone and everyone without a second thought for herself, whatever it took. She could get hurt out there, or worse. During the war, he'd experienced fellow soldiers being brutally taken from him in the blink of an eye, with no time to prepare for it and no time to mourn afterwards. He could still vividly remember how he'd felt during those harrowing years whenever he'd lost a companion out there on the battlefield…all those regrets…the things he should have said, the things he could have done. And now it was happening all over again…only, in a spaceship filled with killer robots and psychopaths with superpowers, with the woman he'd fallen for heading straight to the slaughter.

It was no use. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

Without realising what he was doing, Daniel looked up and called after her.

'Daisy.'

Daisy's heart leapt as she looked up from her portable tracking device and turned back to face him. 'Yeah?'

Daniel had stepped down from the control panel and was walking towards her with purpose. There was a look of raw emotion in his eyes that made Daisy's heart race as he closed the distance between them in a few short strides.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her; how he wanted to wish her good luck even though he knew she didn't need it because she was amazing, how he would be thinking of her the whole time they would be apart and pray for her safe return, how much she had come to mean to him in the short amount of time they'd known each other, how much he wanted to ask her if she would like to go out on a date with him when all this was over, how much he would like her to be a part of his new start in life.

But then as he reached her Daniel hesitated ever so slightly, the words failing him as he met Daisy's gaze, and everything he wanted to say left his mind as instead he grabbed her waist, leaned in and kissed her. It was a kiss that stunned Daniel possibly even more than Daisy herself. It was a kiss that said: _'do what you need to do, but come back to me'_. It was a kiss that meant the world to them both.

When Daisy pulled away, she gazed up at him in surprise, unable to keep the huge smile off her face. _Not so much of a square, after all._

He had that look in his eyes again, the same look that he'd had right after he had kissed her back in the equipment room during the time loops…smouldering, yet dazed and tender, as if he couldn't believe she was real, as if he were trying to memorize every detail of her face. But this was no time loop. There was no resetting this now, and no forgetting for either of them. Daniel had taken the leap in crossing that bridge for both of them, and there was no going back. And it thrilled Daisy to bits. She was so happy, and it alarmed her; she wasn't used to this feeling at all, but she liked it. She liked it very much.

Unable to help herself, Daisy tipped her head up and brought her smiling lips back to his, looping her arm around his neck to rest on his shoulder.

When they broke apart, she leaned away from him slightly with an embarrassed sort of smile on her face as she looked at him and cleared her throat lightly. Daniel had been so relieved by her response, but then noticed that there seemed to be tears forming in her eyes. To her surprise, Daisy didn't mind that he could see that. She had been emotionally closed off for years just to protect herself from more heartbreak, but now she had found the courage to be vulnerable around this wonderful man, and she wasn't afraid to admit that it made her almost want to cry. She had tried to downplay her feelings for Daniel – to herself, and especially to the others who had noticed – because she was terrified of how strong her feelings had become in such a short space of time, and that he wasn't on the same page. But now she knew for sure, and her face was filled with happiness and relief.

Daniel gazed at her in wonder, as if unable to process what had just happened. 'Didn't know I was gonna do that,' he said softly, a tender smile on his face, as she removed her hand from his shoulder.

He sounded so dazed and almost embarrassed with himself, as if he were apologising for overstepping. It only made Daisy's heart swell even more; her giddiness and joyful smile seemed to only make him more stunned, as if he couldn't understand why she had fallen so fast and so hard for him.

'I'm glad you did,' Daisy said, nodding and smiling at him, her eyes still watering ever so slightly.

Daniel nodded, a soft smile falling briefly on his face, before his eyes and brow creased in concern. There was a sense of relief acknowledged between them, and yet also a sense of: _'now what'_? That kiss had only made Daniel fall even deeper, and he didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't want to let her go out there to face Malick and the Chronicoms on her own, yet he knew he had to. And it felt like the hardest thing he had ever had to do.

'Um…I'll see you when I get back,' Daisy said, knowing that he needed reassuring, and her heart skipped a beat giddily as she thought of what could happen when they reunited.

'Yeah,' Daniel murmured, removing his hand from her waist, and sincerely hoping that that hadn't been a kiss goodbye.

'Okay.'

Grinning to herself giddily, still hardly able to believe what had just happened, Daisy turned and left the command bridge to exit the Zephyr, suddenly filled with more confidence and determination at rescuing Jemma and Deke than ever.

His heart still racing and his stomach filled with butterflies, Daniel turned back around and hesitated for a fraction of a second as he looked up at Mack, who was focussed on the control panel and the screen ahead, saying nothing. Daniel had completely forgotten that Mack had been right there, able to see everything. A little flustered, Daniel went back up the stairs to stand beside Mack and see what he could do to help. There was a short silence as Mack tapped away at the control panel and looked up to survey the monitors. And then, finally, Mack spoke.

'Impressive,' he murmured.

'Thank you,' Daniel replied, because it was all he could think to say.

If he admitted it to himself, he was also impressed by how well that had gone. It had been a huge impulsive risk to kiss Daisy like that, but it seemed to have paid off well and even given Daisy a boost. Daniel rarely felt pleased with himself, but right now, he saw no problem in enjoying the moment rather than dwell on the many terrible possibilities of what could happen to Daisy once she stepped foot onto the Chronicom ship.

'Seriously, you got game, my friend,' Mack said admirably, as he grinned slyly at Daniel.

Daniel turned to him, his cheeks reddening slightly. 'Game?' he said, confused. 'What…?'

'Oh, doesn't matter,' Mack said, chuckling, and as he turned back to the control panel he paused and smiled to himself. 'I've never really seen her like that before.'

'Like what?' Daniel asked.

Mack turned to him. 'Happy,' he replied simply.

Daniel felt his shoulders relax at Mack's words, but his smile faded as he looked back towards the command bridge exit, where Daisy had left. He wondered if she made it across the hangar by now, if she had managed to evade capture. There would be guards everywhere, he was sure of it. Would she be able to get through them, or would they have already taken her in?

Mack sighed sympathetically as he leaned towards Daniel. 'Hey. I know how you feel. Every time Yo-Yo goes out there on the field, she doesn't hesitate to put her life at risk just to save someone else, and it scares the hell out of me. But it's also why I love her,' Mack said, a fond smile on his face. 'The waiting and the worrying, though…it's the worst part. But you don't need to worry about Daisy. I know those are just words that'll probably mean nothing to you, but…you haven't seen the things she's been put through these past few years, all the things she's survived. She'll come through…'cause she always does.'

Daniel felt a hopeful smile appear on his lips. 'Well I would expect nothing less from someone called 'Quake',' he said, making Mack laugh. 'Thank you, Mack. Really.'

They smiled at each other. Mack clapped him on the shoulder, and Daniel hoped he knew just how sincere he was when he'd said that. Without Mack's encouragement, Daniel would probably have never had the courage to make his move with Daisy earlier. And without Mack's reassurance now, Daniel was pretty sure that he would already have succumbed to his concerns and ran after Daisy in a blind panic.

His eyes turned to the screen; he could see that a new orange heat signature had popped up, walking through one of the corridors on the lower levels. He sighed in relief; Daisy had made it through the hangar and successfully into the main part of the ship, at least.

The screen then suddenly went black and flashed back to life in quick succession, but the layout of the ship and everyone's heat signatures were no longer visible: instead against a white background was a woman, with black hair styled in an incredibly short bob, with a message for them:

'Did you really think you could sneak onto one of my ships?'

'Is that Sybil?' Daniel asked worriedly.

Mack nodded heavily, and frowned. 'Well, you gotta admit, you didn't see _that_ coming,' he said, staring at the screen.

'I'll grant that your appearance is a statistical improbability,' Sybil said reasonably, 'but whatever advantage you hoped to gain is irrelevant. I didn't see you coming because it is meaningless. You're too late. Every S.H.I.E.L.D. base has been destroyed. The war is over. And you've lost.'

The screen went to black and a tense silence fell as both Daniel and Mack stared at the monitors, at a loss with what to do. Sybil was one step ahead of them, as always. They were too late to save S.H.I.E.L.D.. The situation was hopeless.

But what scared Daniel the most – more so even than the realisation that the planet was soon going to be lost to an army of deadly body-snatching robots – was that the Chronicoms and Malick knew one thing that Daniel had prayed they would never find out.

They knew that Daisy was on board the ship.


	19. The Chronicom Bomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x12 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's quite a Daniel-centric chapter, but I love Daniel so much as a character and really enjoyed his friendship with Mack, so I just went with it. Thanks again for those who are still reading, you honestly have no idea how much I appreciate it :) The next chapter should be ready by the end of the weekend!

Mack refused to believe it. it couldn't be over. he couldn't be the Director that failed this planet and let Nathaniel Malick take over the world with an army of damn robots.

Daniel could see that Mack was angry; he tried reassuring him, but it was hard to sound convincing. They had seen the lasers with their own eyes, Daisy had told them back in the Quinjet where the lasers had been targeting. S.H.I.E.L.D. was finished – in this timeline, at least. There was no getting around that, but there was still hope for the rest of the team back at the Lighthouse. And they still had a chance at defeating Sybil and Malick before they destroyed the rest of the planet. It was a small chance, but, thanks to Daisy – if she could still evade capture – it was definitely there.

'The Lighthouse can survive anything, we just need to get back down to it…re-group,' Daniel said heavily, trying not to think about how impossible that seemed right now, trapped in the hangar of a Chronicom ship.

'It's too late for that,' Mack grumbled helplessly as he paced around.

But Daniel wasn't backing down. 'We owe Daisy, Simmons and Deke a way out of here when they get back,' he said.

Mack noticed how Daniel said 'when' they got back, not 'if'. Daniel had faith in Daisy. He believed in the whole team. And he believed they could get out of this somehow.

He looked up at Daniel slowly, and nodded. 'Yeah. We do owe them that.'

Realising that there was no need for them to hide or keep quiet anymore, Mack tried blasting the ship's hangar doors with the Zephyr's firing missiles. Unfortunately, they barely left a dent in them. Daniel suggested that they try something else, but before they had time to debate their options, the monitor alerted them of new heat signatures that had appeared on the hangar: a group of Chronicom Hunters were approaching the Zephyr.

As Daniel followed Mack down to the loading bay to greet their visitors, he knew he couldn't keep in his concerns any longer. 'Mack, Sybil said "did you really think you could sneak onto one of my ships?",' he said urgently.

'I know what she said,' Mack muttered, a little sharply.

'But does that mean they caught Daisy?' Daniel asked, his face torn.

'It means…it means they know she's there…or…that we're here. I-I don't know,' Mack said helplessly. 'All I know is that Daisy can handle herself out there.'

'I know that,' Daniel said sincerely, 'but does she need back-up? Now they probably know she's on-board?'

'What Daisy needs is for us to find her a way out of here, like you said,' Mack said firmly, and he looked round at Daniel as they reached the loading bay. 'Agreed?'

Daniel swallowed and nodded. 'Yes, sir.'

But when Mack explained what his plan was for the approaching Hunters, a part of Daniel couldn't help wishing that he'd stayed upstairs.

'When I asked if you had something else, I meant something…bigger and more powerful,' Daniel said awkwardly.

Mack raised his eyebrows at him. 'Well I don't see _you_ coming up with any brilliant ideas,' he pointed out.

Daniel's face fell slightly. 'I wish I could disagree,' he murmured.

He'd quickly found that one of the hardest things about being pulled from his life in 1955 was that he was no longer useful anymore. As Chief, everyone had respected Daniel as the one with the smart ideas, the one giving orders, the one who knew exactly what to do. But here he was just a floundering mess, following people about like a lost puppy and trying desperately to help but not actually able to do much. It was disheartening, to say the least.

Mack seemed to disagree with Daniel's mindset, however. 'Hey, look – for a guy who was ripped from his own timeline, who ended up on a spaceship full of robots, you're not doing half bad,' he said sympathetically.

Before Daniel could respond, the Hunters then approached and boarded the Zephyr to take their faces. Retorting sarcastically, Mack then used some sort of magical cane to take them out; putting his hand on Daniel's back and guiding them down to a crouch, he smashed the cane to the floor, and there was a loud crackle as a huge wave of energy was released from it, electrocuting the Chronicoms and blasting them far away. They fell in a heap to the floor.

Daniel laughed in awe as he straightened up. 'If that wasn't egg in your beer!' he said, impressed, as he moved forward to admire Mack's handiwork. 'How many more of those do you have?'

'That's it,' Mack replied regretfully, as he picked up one of the Chronicoms' guns. 'We just have to hold them off long enough for Daisy to get back with Simmons and Deke.'

Daniel's heart lurched uncomfortably as he thought of Daisy, alone on that ship with ten times as many Chronicoms to deal with, not to mention Malick.

'And then?' he asked Mack warily, and when Mack raised his eyebrows at him, Daniel nodded in understanding. 'One problem at a time.'

He sighed and looked out there onto the open hangar, as if hoping that he would be able to see Daisy emerging in the distance and running back towards the Quinjet, her wavy hair flying behind her, with Jemma and Deke on either side. But there was no sign of her.

_Should she be back by now? Was I crazy to let her go out there without backup? Is it too late to go after her?_

As he tried not to let his concerns consume him, Daniel gathered up the weapons from the dead Chronicoms left on the floor, while Mack brought out a box of ammunition.

'Deke reconfigured these shells with an electrical disruption charge,' Mack said, holding out one of the red shells from the box. 'A single shot should drop a Chronicom.'

'Great,' Daniel said, impressed. 'How many shells do we have?'

'Maybe fifty,' Mack said, as he loaded his shotgun axe.

'Fifty?' Daniel said incredulously. 'Wow, that's real peachy.'

Mack stared at him. 'Did you just say 'peachy'?' he asked, bemused.

'Yeah.'

Mack grunted, amused. 'If we get out of here, I gotta get you some new words,' he said, grinning. 'And…don't let Daisy hear you talking like that.'

Daniel frowned. He didn't think that Daisy minded it when he used old-fashioned words and phrases; in fact, from the glimpses he'd caught of her expression whenever he made that sort of faux pas, he suspected she kind of liked it.

'Why? Does it mean something bad now?' Daniel asked, confused.

Mack hesitated as he looked at him. 'No, it's…never mind.' He trailed off, his grin fading, unable to find the words.

He looked back up at Daniel and took in the innocent expression of this pure, wholesome man. He wondered what it must be like to be in Daniel's position, to have been thrown in the deep end like this, to have had your life completely upended and been put at risk pretty much every single day since joining a group of time-travelling agents from the future, whilst also having your heart stolen by a superhero.

Mack never would have thought that any person who had gone through such an experience would begin to care for – and risk their life for – a bunch of strangers so quickly. But Daniel was different. Mack knew that it wasn't just Daisy that Daniel cared for; it was everyone on the team as well – Mack had seen it himself in brief moments when they'd been on the Zephyr after the time storm while they'd waited for the time drive to start working again. He'd seen the way Daniel looked out for Jemma, almost as if he had adopted her as his sister; how he'd spoken sympathetically to Coulson about what it was like to be an L.M.D.; how he'd tried hard to bond with Deke without realising that he was trying to become friends with his romantic rival; how he had checked in with May on how she was coping with her new empathic powers; how he and Yo-Yo had shared stories about their experiences of their disabilities and enthused over Simmons' prosthetics. He cared for all of them, and would do anything for all of them.

Daniel was a man out of time, but he was a man in the _right_ time now, as far as Mack was concerned, a man in the time he was always meant to be in. He was part of their family now. Mack only wished that he hadn't joined them so late, and so near to the end of their run, if what Daisy had said about Enoch's premonition was correct. He dearly hoped that Sousa would make it through this. He deserved a good life, a happy life, particularly after the last couple of weeks he had just been put through.

'It's a fine word,' Mack said now, smiling fondly at him. 'And you're a fine man.'

Daniel's face lit up slightly as he looked up at Mack in surprise. He felt warm inside. He wished he'd got to know Mack sooner; he supposed he had just been too intimidated by Mack initially when he'd first been pulled out of 1955.

Mack exhaled deeply. 'I just can't believe it's gonna be…robots that take us out in the end,' he said bitterly, as he walked over to Daniel.

Daniel looked out onto the hangar heavily, but then was suddenly struck with an idea. 'If this really is the end, shouldn't we take out as many of them as possible?' he suggested.

'Even more than fifty?' Mack said, raising his eyebrows at him.

Daniel chuckled softly before grabbing the knife Mack had lent him out of his belt. 'Back at Area 51, the Chronicoms tried to turn Helius into a nuclear bomb using just _one_ of their robots,' he said, as he approached one of the dead Hunters on the floor.

Mack watched, stunned, as Daniel crouched down and stabbed his knife into the Chronicom without even flinching. He cut through the uniform to reveal the robot skin beneath and looked back up at Mack.

'What kind of damage could we do with these six?' he pointed out.

Mack's eyes widened slightly. 'A hell of a lot,' he said, his expression determined, and he smiled at Daniel. 'Sousa, you're a genius.'

Daniel shrugged humbly. 'I have my moments.'

They both got to work, dismantling the human skin and clothing on all six bodies to reveal the Chronicom robotics beneath. It was good to feel useful and to occupy his mind with this task, but it didn't stop Daniel from thinking about Daisy.

_Where is she? What's taking so long? Should I have done more to help?_

But then he had to remind himself that he _was_ helping, just in a different way.

As quickly as they could, Mack and Daniel tied up the Chronicom bodies together and wired up their mechanisms to the Gravitonium drive – whatever that was – and the time drive. It would make one hell of a blast…and one that neither of them would be able to avoid. But they both knew that it was a strong back-up plan for if things didn't pan out their way. Daniel didn't fear death, not really; if things went south with Daisy, Jemma and Deke, then he would willingly give his life to take out as many Chronicoms as possible in order to try and help the rest of the team back on Earth.

They then heard rapidly approaching footsteps; Daniel and Mack both dived for the nearest Chronicom guns and held them out, but then stopped and sighed as Jemma and Deke came running up the loading bay to join them in the Zephyr.

'Deke. Jemma,' Mack said, relieved.

Daniel frowned. 'Where's Daisy?' he asked, trying not to panic.

'Dealing with Kora. She said not to wait,' Deke replied, panting.

Daniel froze, horrified, and stared at him indignantly. _She said that and they just left her there alone?!_

Deke couldn't mean it, surely. _Daisy_ couldn't have meant it. Did she really think that they would just leave her here, with the Chronicoms and Malick?! He dreaded to think what must be going on up there to make her say such a thing, as if sure that she wouldn't be coming back.

Jemma looked slightly dazed as she walked on into the Zephyr, murmuring about home. Deke revealed to Mack and Daniel that Malick and the Chronicoms had done something to her to mess with the implant in her brain; she kept remembering and forgetting snippets of information, as if she didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

_She said not to wait._

Deke's words were still ringing painfully in Daniel's ears. Was she trying to get herself killed?!

Deke then looked down at the contraption Mack and Daniel had fashioned out of the dead Chronicoms, and began ranting about suicide bombs. Daniel barely heard him. His mind was only on one thing.

'I'll go for Daisy,' he said firmly, hurrying forward without even looking at Mack for permission.

He knew that he was abandoning his post, and he knew that Daisy was a highly capable agent who could fend for herself, but right now that didn't matter. All that mattered was getting Daisy home.

'Stand down, Agent Sousa!' Mack ordered sharply, his expression urgent yet sympathetic; he knew that Daniel must be going out of his mind with worry.

Daniel came to a reluctant halt. 'And do what?' he snapped, looking round at Mack in frustration.

He had never felt more helpless. He knew that he wouldn't be able to help Daisy much anyway; if Daisy couldn't defeat the Chronicoms or Malick, then he certainly wouldn't have a chance. But he had to try and do something, _anything_. They couldn't just leave her out there.

Mack hesitated, thinking hard…and then inspiration struck. 'Find me some duct tape,' he eventually replied, somehow managing to make the words sound ominous.

'Duct tape?' Daniel said loudly, incredulous. 'Seriously, that's the best we've got? We can't just abandon Daisy-'

'We're not. We're gonna hold off as long as possible,' Mack said firmly, and he indicated the Chronicom device at their feet. 'And we're not gonna let all our effort with this go to waste.'

'What are you thinking?' Daniel asked, while Deke hurried off to check on Jemma, who was wandering around the medical bay looking extremely confused.

Mack began to smile. 'We strap these bad boys to our missiles beneath the engine.'

Daniel hesitated as he thought about it, and then his eyebrows shot up his forehead; he suddenly felt rather hopeful. 'You think it'll work?'

'Well if that won't blast open the hangar doors, nothing will,' Mack replied, as Deke remerged.

'Okay. Is Simmons all right?' Daniel asked Deke.

Deke grimaced. 'She's just…getting her bearings, I think.'

'Okay – can you show me where the duct tape is?'

'S-sure,' Deke replied, bewildered; _why_ did they need duct tape?

'Thanks. We'll be back soon, you wanna get these guys ready?' Daniel said to Mack, indicating the Chronicom bodies.

'Absolutely,' Mack said, enjoying the sense of authority radiating from Daniel right now.

Daniel then stepped up to Mack. 'Mack. Just so you know…I'm not leaving this ship without her,' he said, his voice tremoring slightly on the last word.

Mack smiled. The guy had been about to storm a spaceship from the future filled with hundreds of deadly robots, armed with nothing more than two handguns and his stubborn loyalty. He had fallen hard.

'Oh, believe me, I know,' Mack assured him.

Daniel nodded, then tapped Deke on the arm and the two of them headed off together to the equipment room.

Deke could see the panic in Sousa's eyes as he opened the cupboards. 'You really care about her, don't you?' he murmured, as Daniel retrieved a large roll of duct tape from the cupboard.

Daniel didn't need to ask who he meant. He looked at Deke and nodded, too consumed with worry to find the words.

Deke understood. He could remember vividly the day Sousa had brought an unconscious Daisy back from Malick, in 1976. He could picture it just now – he'd entered the medical bay to announce that they were about to jump, only to be stunned at the sight of a bloodied, battered and bruised Sousa, who had stayed sat there on that stool, having not slept for two or three days on the trot, his eyes fixed solely on Daisy as she lay in the healing chamber. Deke had known from that one look that Sousa could already see Daisy for the incredible person she was. He remembered how he'd felt a lump rise in his throat as he'd walked away, forced to accept that any chance he may have had with Daisy was now definitely gone.

Deke didn't feel in any way bitter or sad about that fact now, though. Over a year had passed for him since that moment, and Deke had come to terms with it in what he hoped was a graceful manner. He wished that he could have the chance to get to know Sousa better now – he seemed like a solid guy, after all – but he feared that any chances of that were rapidly slimming. It was feeling more and more like the end of the world.

'She'll be okay,' Deke said now, and he patted Daniel awkwardly on the back. 'She always is. She'll be back, you see.'

Daniel nodded heavily. 'I hope you're right. Now come on, let's get this show on the road,' he said, straightening up with the rolls of duct tape piled in his arms, but then he paused. 'Is that…is that still a thing in your time, "show on the road"?'

'Uh, you're talking to the wrong guy about that, pal,' Deke said awkwardly, 'I'm from 2091.'

'Oh, yeah,' Daniel said, and he paused as he looked at Deke thoughtfully. 'I guess that makes _both_ of us…'men out of time'.'

'Yeah, I guess it does,' Deke said, sounding almost happy, and they both smiled at each other before heading back to Mack to prepare their escape.

While Deke tried to reassure Jemma, Daniel and Mack spent the next ten minutes or so strapping the Chronicoms to the engines beneath the Zephyr. Once their work was done, they then headed back inside and made their way towards the cockpit.

'We're not gonna be able to wait for long,' Mack said in a low, agitated voice as they walked through into the command bridge, 'more Chronicoms will be on their way now they know Deke and Simmons have escaped-'

'Just a little longer,' Daniel said urgently. 'She'll be here.'

Mack looked at him with a sad sort of frown, as if wordlessly telling Daniel that he needed to prepare for the worst, before carrying on towards the cockpit. Swallowing nervously, Daniel paused beside Jemma, who was sat on a seat on the command bridge looking very anxious.

'Hey, Jemma, I just wanted to check how you're doing – is-is it all right if I call you Jemma?' Daniel asked.

But Jemma was gazing up at him with no hint of recognition in her eyes. 'Who are you?'

'I…I'm Daniel Sousa,' Daniel replied calmly, crouching down so that he was on her level. 'I'm a friend.'

'But I…I don't know you,' Jemma murmured.

'No, you do. You helped fake my death in 1955. You built me my amazing new prosthetic leg,' Daniel said patiently.

Jemma frowned. '1955?'

'I was the West Coast Division Chief in '55, yeah. You knew me from the history books before you all saved me. I'm…Peggy Carter's old partner,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her.

At this, Jemma's face lit up. 'Oh, Agent Sousa!'

'Yep,' Daniel said with a chuckle. 'Knew that would help you get there.'

'Yes…and you're Daisy's partner now,' Jemma said, looking delighted. 'I remember!'

'W-well…well I'd like to be, if that's what she'd want,' Daniel said, smiling softly at the thought.

Jemma nodded at him earnestly. 'She does. You mean the world to…' But then she trailed off, looking crestfallen. 'Oh, but where is she? Where is…I'm sorry, I don't…'

Her eyes were glazing over, as if she was forgetting all over again. Daniel put a hand on her shoulder, concerned, but then Mack called over to him from the cockpit.

'Sousa. Get over here, prep for take-off.'

Daniel turned back to Jemma. 'I'm just going over there. I'll be back soon, okay?' he said comfortingly. 'Strap in.'

Jemma nodded at him, and then he walked over to join Mack in the cockpit.

'Do you think Simmons will be okay?' Daniel asked him in concern as he hovered by his seat. 'Her mind's still a little…well, fuzzy, to say the least.'

'I'm hoping it's just the after-effects of whatever they did to that implant. Deke thinks she should be back to normal soon,' Mack replied. 'Now sit down.'

Daniel looked at him in surprise. 'I…but I'm not a co-pilot.'

'Well you are now,' Mack said firmly, patting the seat next to him. 'And calm down, we're not going anywhere yet, we'll give Daisy five more minutes.'

Daniel sat down on the seat beside Mack and buckled himself in. Strangely, he _did_ feel calm, but perhaps that was because he knew that if five minutes passed and Daisy still wasn't back, he would simply leave the Zephyr himself and go after her, regardless of what Mack had to say about it. Perhaps it was also because he knew, he felt it in his soul, that Daisy would return.

Sure enough, after merely two minutes of tense silence, Deke's voice spoke up through the comms with words that flooded Daniel with relief:

'Okay. Daisy's on board,' Deke announced. 'It's go time. Do I sound cool when I say that?'

Mack rolled his eyes as he reached up to flick the switches and power up the Zephyr's engines. Daniel watched him work with a slight smile on his face as he tried to get his emotions under control. Despite knowing that Daisy had reached them in time, and that she was safe, his heart was still racing at an unbelievable rate and his shoulders were still tensed up…but he felt strangely giddy.

They lifted off, Mack steering the Zephyr sharply around on the hangar floor. As they came to a stop, facing the hangar doors, Mack and Daniel exchanged a heavy glance. They knew that this was their one shot.

After pressing a few switches on the navigation panel, Mack pointed to one of the levers. 'That one right there,' he said.

A small smile fell on Daniel's face, grateful for this chance, as he reached down and pulled the lever sharply, releasing the missiles.

'Lord, I hope this works,' Mack muttered, as Daisy and Deke hurried into the cockpit to take their seats behind the pilots.

Daisy couldn't take her eyes off Daniel as she sat down and strapped herself into her seat, having just seen him pull the weapons lever to blast their way out of the Chronicom ship; it had been very satisfying to witness. Daniel glanced behind him now to look at Daisy, and she breathlessly flashed him a grin to reassure him that she was okay. Daniel was amazed; she barely looked like she'd broken a sweat. Not a single hair was out of place. He wondered now why he had been so worried – of course she was okay, she was _Daisy Johnson_. He smiled back at her, exhaling shakily with relief, before turning back to the front window just in time to see the huge explosion.

They could feel the heat and force of the huge billowing ball of fire even from inside the Zephyr. They flinched as the sheer force of the explosion rocked the Zephyr violently, and Daisy found herself smiling proudly as they soared through the cloud of fire and smoke, out of the Chronicom ship and into the beauty of open space once more.

Daniel sighed giddily in relief. They were out. They'd really managed to escape. He couldn't believe their luck.

'It actually worked!' Daniel said, laughing.

Mack grinned at him. 'All thanks to you, Sousa, using the Chronicoms as a bomb was your idea.'

'Wouldn't expect anything less,' Daisy said from behind them, and Daniel turned around to smile at her.

'So where are we heading now, the Lighthouse? Are the others okay?' Daniel asked Mack.

'They're fine, I just got a message from Yo-Yo,' Mack replied, as he steered them away from the Chronicom ship, 'they've traced an 0-8-4 signal, apparently there was a distress call after the attacks-'

'So where have they gone?' Deke asked.

'Our new favourite place, apparently – the safe house in New York. We've got a message instructing us to meet there,' Mack said.

Daisy raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'At Koenig's speakeasy? Really?'

'Yep. I'll set the coordinates now,' Mack said, typing in the destination on the monitor so that the Zephyr could lock onto it.

Daniel glanced at the screen; the Chronicom fleet still wasn't that far behind them. 'We really need to beat feet before they come after us,' he said.

'Huh. 'Beat feet',' Daisy said thoughtfully, and she smiled. 'I like it.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows at Mack as if to say, 'see?' Grinning, Mack revved the engines and they sped up.

They followed the signal to the 0-8-4 and headed for New York. Once they had re-entered the planet's atmosphere and the ship had resumed steady flight, everyone unbuckled and left their seats; Jemma had managed to install auto-pilot on the Zephyr a few weeks ago, after all.

Daisy went straight to Jemma, who was still looking a little dazed and confused by everyone around her. The only one who she seemed truly comfortable around was Deke. Daisy and Daniel left them to it, and found a corner at one end of the room where they leant against one of the control panels side-by-side. Mack flashed Daisy a wiggle of his eyebrows before leaving the command bridge to check on the rest of the ship.

'So,' Daisy said, glancing at Daniel. 'How was your first time making a bomb out of robots?'

'Actually it was really fun,' Daniel realised, to his utter bemusement, and Daisy laughed softly.

She suddenly felt just as dazed and giddy as she had when she'd last been on the command bridge, merely moments after Daniel had kissed her. She'd had to switch off from all that the moment she'd sneaked onto the Chronicom ship; she'd had to focus on finding Jemma and Deke and somehow getting them out of there without being re-captured or killed. It was only now that she'd managed to accomplish that – suspiciously much more easily than she'd anticipated – that she could turn her mind's attention once again to Daniel.

The dynamic between them didn't seem to have changed much, at least not noticeably so; they were stood a little closer, their hands and heads inclined towards each other's, but aside from their body language no one would think anything was different. It felt natural. It felt familiar. It felt _nice_.

'You weren't worried about me back there, were you?' Daisy asked him playfully.

'Nope, not at all. Don't know what would make you think that,' Daniel said, before meeting her gaze and smiling. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'm okay,' she replied, though her face fell ever so slightly as she thought of Kora, still there on that ship with Malick. 'Kora let me go.'

'Do we trust her now?' Daniel asked.

She liked that he said 'we' rather than 'you'. It just further confirmed to her that they were a united front.

Daisy hesitated for a moment, considering his words. Then she nodded.

'Do you want to tell me what happened?' Daniel asked, aware that it was a sensitive subject that she might not be ready to face just yet.

A small smile appeared on Daisy's face. _Yes. Yes, I do._

So she told him.

Kora had been so uncertain when she'd found Daisy, Jemma and Deke in the corridor on the upper levels back on the Chronicom ship. She'd looked at a complete loss, like she had no idea what she was meant to be doing – or even thinking – at all anymore. When Daisy had tried speaking reasonably to her, Kora had attempted to attack Daisy with her Inhuman powers – unsuccessfully – and insisted that she didn't need any protection, that she could take care of herself. Malick seemed to have led her to believe that she was invincible with her powers.

'She was a monster,' Kora had said, when they spoke of Jiaying.

But Daisy knew that Kora didn't believe that. Not really. Why else would she have been so angry and visibly distressed by Jiaying's death?

'I believe that Jiaying loved you more than anything, but she didn't know how to help you,' Daisy had said sincerely. 'She was afraid for you.'

Daisy had known then that she wasn't going to use her powers to fight Kora, that she never could. She didn't like Kora, but she recognised her somehow. She was lonely, she was lost, she was struggling…just as Daisy had once been. She just needed someone to set her on the right path.

Realising that maybe she could be that someone, Daisy had tried persuading Kora to come back with her, to escape with her and the rest of her team on the Zephyr, to break free of Malick's hold over her.

But Kora believed it was too late. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been destroyed, and she and Malick had won. They were going to rule, together. But Daisy could tell that that wasn't what Kora truly wanted; she spoke in Malick's voice, not her own.

'We can still change this timeline. Will you help me?' Daisy had asked.

And then she had let Daisy pass. 'Go. Do what you need to do. I can't go with you but just do it,' Kora had said, her face conflicted but her voice firm. 'Go, _quickly_ , before I change my mind. Nathaniel will be here any moment!'

Daisy had grabbed her sister by the arms. 'Thank you,' she'd said, before fleeing.

A part of her had expected the Zephyr to have already left without her, but then she'd seen the ship still there in the hangar, and wondered if perhaps a certain _someone_ had convinced them to wait for her before departing. Daisy didn't mind admitting to herself that she'd rather hoped for that.

'So…what will happen to her now?' Daniel asked, looking concerned.

'I…I don't know,' Daisy replied honestly. 'She was confused. I think she still believes Malick but…I don't think she wants us to fail.'

'She doesn't know how to feel about it,' Daniel murmured thoughtfully, and he sighed. 'Well, I hope she figures it out soon. We can't just leave her there with him. Once we've dealt with this 0-8-4 signal, we'll have to go back for her and get her out of there, if that's what she wants.'

'But…we can't just…' Daisy trailed off and looked up at him, mesmerized. 'You'd do that? After all that effort in getting us out of that ship, you'd just…go back there for her?'

'Of course,' Daniel said, frowning as if genuinely confused by why she was questioning him. 'She's your sister.'

Daisy's lips parted in awe. She would have kissed him there and then if Mack hadn't then called out to them all saying to prepare to land.

The Zephyr landed somewhere not too far from the main street where the safe house stood. They all left the Zephyr hurriedly, anxious to reunite with the rest of the team. Daniel was still highly impressed by the cloaking device on the Zephyr; he was gazing up at the invisible aircraft they had just exited in awe. Daisy ended up having to yank him by the wrist to turn him around and pull him away.

While Deke and Mack walked ahead with Jemma, trying to reassure her that everything was okay as they headed down the dark street towards the speakeasy, Daisy hung back a little with Daniel, and she smiled softly to herself as his fingers brushed against her knuckle.

'So, uh…you kissed me earlier,' Daisy said, her heart skipping along nervously, as they walked down the street.

Daniel's lips twitched. 'I did, didn't I?'

'Mm-hmm.'

'How was it?' Daniel asked, surprised by how calm he felt; his nerves seemed to have disappeared around Daisy now that they had crossed that bridge. All he felt was certainty.

'It was very nice,' Daisy replied with a twitch of her eyebrows.

'Good. Good,' Daniel said, nodding slowly, as his little finger intertwined with hers. 'Maybe…when this is over, you and I can…maybe talk, about…' He trailed off, not quite knowing how to phrase it; he didn't want to pressure her, after all.

'Stuff?' Daisy finished for him gently, as they slowed down their pace slightly; they could see the steps leading down to the speakeasy up ahead at the far end of the street.

'Yeah, stuff, exactly,' Daniel replied awkwardly, and as he met her gaze they both laughed softly.

'Yeah. Yeah, I'd really like that,' Daisy said, nodding as her smiling lips practically trembled with happiness.

Daniel smiled back tenderly, relieved. 'Good.'

He was so glad. They had a job to do now, and he knew there was a tough road ahead of them with the Chronicoms and Malick, but for now, they could enjoy this small moment together. They could be excited for whatever the future had in store for them, when this was all over. _If_ they made it to the end, that was.

Feeling elated, a beaming Daisy rested her head on Daniel's shoulder briefly, before squeezing his wrist and pulling him forward to catch up with the others.


	20. The One to Stay Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episodes 7x12-7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

When they reached the speakeasy, the door seemed to have been barricaded from the inside; Daisy had to use her powers to quake the door open. They all entered to see the darkened room filled with numerous people, presumably most of whom were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from here in 1983 who had survived the Chronicoms' attacks, all pointing their guns directly at them.

'They're with us!' came Coulson's urgent voice, to Daisy's relief.

The agents lowered their weapons, and Mack went straight to embrace Yo-Yo, while Daisy headed over to Coulson and May. Daniel smiled fondly as he watched her hug them both, like a daughter reunited with her parents.

While the other agents looked on bewilderedly, Daisy and Deke were forced to explain to the rest of the team that Jemma didn't appear to recognise any of them due to the Chronicoms having interfered with her memory. While Jemma murmured to herself about marriage and husbands as she wandered over to the bar counter, where some strange objects stood, Daniel took a step forward.

'Any idea why we're all here?' he asked the room at large. 'Or…who sent that message?'

'That's an 0-8-4 in and of itself,' Coulson replied.

Mack revealed that they couldn't stay here at the safe house for long. The Chronicoms would no doubt be already on their way after them, and they seemed to be planning some sort of landing or invasion. Daniel couldn't even imagine how confused the 1983 agents in this bar must be by such a statement.

It was then when they all realised that Jemma was fiddling around with the objects on the bar counter – the 0-8-4s that all the assembled agents had been instructed to bring when they had met here after receiving the signal. Jemma was fitting all the parts together like pieces of a puzzle; despite her confused memory, she seemed to know what she was doing, and she had no idea how.

When another agent – a sweet, elderly man who Daniel instantly went over to look after – arrived to deliver the last 0-8-4, Coulson realised that Enoch must have deposited these various 0-8-4s while he had been trapped here over the decades, intending for them all to be fit together, in this very moment. Once Jemma had finished constructing the peculiar device, the wall behind them then slid upwards, revealing a secret room. It looked small and unremarkable, with very little inside, and Jemma couldn't remember what it was intended for…but she knew it was right.

Jemma carried the device carefully over to the table in the secret room, and they all waited with bated breath…before Jemma remembered that she was married, that the team had been there with her and her husband through their whole journey…and that was when she worked out the final missing piece to the puzzle: her wedding ring. She tentatively removed the ring from her finger and slipped it into the device, and it activated at once. Everyone stepped back and the device shone brightly and began to whir, louder and louder, unit it shot out several beams to the ceiling at once, from which something that looked very much like a portal appeared and then –

Daisy gasped in shock. A man had appeared, having materialized from out of the portal in the ceiling, and was now stood directly before them all. He was wearing a mask that covered his face, but Daisy knew who it must be before he'd even removed it.

He took off the mask, breathing heavily, and his face lit up in delight as his gaze fell on his confused wife. 'Jemma,' Fitz said lovingly.

The whole team erupted in beams of delight at seeing their lost friend again…at least, everyone apart from Jemma, who looked more lost than ever as he tried to approach her. Fitz looked crestfallen as he realised that she didn't remember him.

Daniel looked on, feeling just as confused as the 1983 agents undoubtedly did as they watched from the side-lines in bewilderment, while Fitz tried to reassure the team that Jemma just needed time for her mind to recover, that no serious damage should have been done. Daisy hardly found this reassuring.

After the initial euphoria at seeing him, she and the rest of the team were starting to feel somewhat resentful towards Fitz. Where the hell had he been? What had he been doing this whole time?

Fitz – bursting with a strangely nervous, agitated sort of energy – informed them all that he had seen countless versions of how these events in the timeline would play out; he'd known everything that would happen. Daniel found this unnerving to hear. Fitz and Jemma had apparently worked out that the only way they could save the original timeline was for the team to have survived through this new one up to a certain point, where they were now reliant on a key to save the world: Kora.

Daniel looked around at Daisy the moment Fitz mentioned Kora's name. She looked stunned, confused…and guilty. He knew what she was thinking at once: that they shouldn't have left her behind on the Chronicom ship. He knew it had been Kora's choice; Daisy had told him herself that Kora had insisted that she needed to stay with Malick when she let her escape to the Zephyr…but he also knew what Daisy was like, how she felt responsible for practically everyone and everything. His heart ached for her. How could they have known that Kora would be 'the key' to all this? And what did Fitz actually mean by that?

As the silence stretched on, Fitz clasped his hands to his head in despair. 'Did Kora survive?' he asked desperately.

'Yes,' Daisy replied.

'Oh, thank God,' Fitz said, relieved. 'Where is she?'

'She's with the enemy – Nathaniel Malick,' Daisy explained helplessly.

'What? What happened? She's your sister, didn't you connect?' Fitz said, looking horrified. 'Jiaying-'

'Jiaying is dead,' Daisy said, her voice tremoring ever so slightly on the last word.

Daniel wanted nothing more than to hug her in that moment, but knew he couldn't. He barely had a clue what was going on or what Fitz was saying but he did know it was important; their only chance of success was clearly through his expertise.

Fitz's mouth fell open; clearly he hadn't seen _this_ coming. 'But she is pivotal,' he said slowly, burying his face in his hands.

Her heart beating heavily against her chest, Daisy could feel her mind drifting as an agitated Fitz explained to them all how they needed to get the portal device that Jemma had assembled – which he referred to as the Quantum Bridge – onto the Zephyr, so that they could hook it up and fly home together. Apparently the Quantum Bridge device had enabled Fitz to travel from the original timeline across something called the Quantum Realm over to this new alternate timeline, which had been created when the team had branched off in 1931. Fitz insisted that they could still get back to their original timeline, where the Chronicom fleet hadn't destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D.

While Coulson protested that they couldn't abandon everyone here in this timeline with the Chronicoms about to take over the world, Daniel glanced over at Daisy. This talk of multiple dimensions and robot invasions and Quantum Realms was beginning to give him a headache, but he could tell it was nothing compared to what Daisy was feeling right now. She looked almost faint, and she felt like she might throw up.

She had failed to connect with Kora. She had failed to keep Jiaying safe. Both these things had clearly been vital in Fitz's plan to save the timeline. And now that plan was ruined, and it was all Daisy's fault. If only she had managed to protect them both from Malick.

_Malick._ It all boiled down to him, the psychopath who had butchered and drained her, who had turned her sister over to the dark side and murdered their mother in cold blood. Her knuckles cracked and her nostrils flared as she thought of his leering face, his drawling voice, his melodramatic walk. She wanted him dead.

Daisy blinked as she tried to focus on the yelling going on around them; they were all arguing now, saying that they needed to take the Chronicom fleet back through the Quantum Realm to the original timeline with them, regardless of what Fitz's percentages and the time stream had to say about it – the people here had suffered enough.

She hadn't noticed that Daniel had come to stand beside her until just now. Daniel took her hand and gave it a brief reassuring squeeze before letting go, sensing that she needed a moment to herself. Daisy closed her eyes, grateful for his comforting touch, before bringing her hand up to her mouth, her face creased in worry, as they continued to listen to the team's deliberations.

Deke had just worked out that the Quantum Bridge device could reduce matter subatomically, creating an energy field to do it, almost like a bubble – they could expand this bubble to bring the Chronicom fleet back with them to the original timeline, using 10,000 megawatts of energy to generate it.

There was one problem with this though – someone would need to stay behind at this end, here in 1983, to set it up and turn it on. They would be trapped in this alternate timeline forever.

'We have to break up the band,' Deke said, looking truly distressed at the thought.

'I don't know if that matters,' Daisy realised, though it pained her to say it. ''Cause this…this is the last mission together, isn't it?'

There was a silence as everyone looked at her, stunned, then back at Fitz.

'How could _you_ know that?' Fitz asked, frowning.

'Enoch told us,' Jemma remembered matter-of-factly. 'Before he died.'

Another silence fell. There was a desperate sense of sadness in the room as everyone in the team looked at each other, their expressions filled with longing, denial and grief. To his surprise, Daniel didn't feel as much of an outsider to this as he ought to have done. He felt almost as if he had been always part of this team, even though it had been only just over a week.

'Yeah, that's true,' Fitz replied heavily as Daisy looked on sadly, her heart practically breaking as he spoke. 'In fact, no matter what the outcome…this will be the last time we're all in the same room together. Ever.'

Daisy's face was on the brink of crumbling. His words were so final, so devastating. It wasn't just the end of an era, it was the end of Daisy's home, her family…her life as she knew it. And it crushed her to know that it was almost over, and that there was nothing they could do to change it.

Daniel didn't even need to look at Daisy stood beside him to know how distressed she felt. It was almost like he was attuned to her thoughts. He knew how the thing that scared Daisy the most was the idea of losing the people she loved. And he knew how much this team meant to her. She'd told him herself how they all meant everything to her, how they had saved each other countless times, how they had lived and worked together and been to hell and back over the course of the years, always united as one. They were a family. None of them deserved to be separated, after all they had done for each other. They had all fought so hard to save the world, they had sacrificed everything…and now one of them was going to be forced to stay behind, never to return home with their loved ones?

No. Daniel couldn't allow that.

Daniel bent his head low as he realised what he was about to do. He didn't want to do it, not in the slightest, but he knew it was only right. Besides, he couldn't complain. He'd been a lucky man; he should have died over a week ago, but instead he had been granted all these extra days – these exciting, terrifying, wonderful, heart-stopping days – where he had gone on adventures, travelled through time and space, quickly formed deep bonds with new friends and, most importantly, fallen in love, something he'd never thought would ever happen to him again. It had been an absolute gift.

But now he knew why the universe had brought this team to him, why space-time had allowed them to prevent his death in 1955: it had been for this very purpose. To send these people back to their home, like they deserved. He didn't belong in the timeline where they were from. Well, he didn't belong anywhere really, now that he was technically no longer alive. But he could do this for them.

It was only fair for it to be him; this way, their family didn't have to be broken up. It was only right.

'I'll stay.'

He was looking at the floor when he spoke the words because it was too painful, but Daniel forced himself to look up afterwards, to make sure the team knew that he meant it, and Mack's face fell.

Daisy felt the blood drain from her face as she looked up at Daniel, horrified. He was looking at anywhere but her. _No. He can't be serious._

Daniel took a deep breath as he tried to put on a brave face, sensing Daisy's wide, beseeching eyes on him. 'I belong here,' he said heavily.

Daisy's lips parted in protest but she was too stunned and aghast to say anything, just as everyone else in the team was.

_This can't be happening. Not again. No. He can't do this._

'I've already been given the privilege of getting a second chance, of meeting all you…fine people,' Daniel said, clasping a hand on Deke's shoulder.

Everyone in the team felt a rush of affection – and despair – for this poor, wonderful, selfless man as he looked down briefly and turned towards Daisy, floundering slightly as he tried to think of the words.

Daniel's voice shook slightly when he next spoke. 'Uh…it's only right,' he went on, glancing at Daisy, and his heart sank as he took in her anguished, almost dazed expression, as if she couldn't believe what he was saying.

Her eyes had drifted to meet May's agonized gaze. The room was spinning, and she felt almost like she couldn't breathe. He really was being serious. Daisy knew that Daniel wasn't trying to be a martyr or doing this to make some grand soppy gesture; he was doing it because he genuinely believed it to be right. She knew that, if she wasn't biased, she would probably have agreed with his reasoning as well. But she couldn't.

Daniel brought her gaze back to his by stepping towards her and softly grasping her hands, and neither of them were afraid of who saw. Everyone in the team knew anyway. They had all been able to see it, probably long before Daisy and Daniel themselves. And they were all equally as heartbroken as they watched them now.

Daisy could feel her emotions threatening to come to the surface as he closed the distance between them, his thumbs caressing her knuckles…her eyes began to well up as she gazed at him, utterly crestfallen, but she didn't care. He was sacrificing himself in this timeline just so that she and her friends could get back to their lives and save their world. She didn't want this. Not one bit. Daniel kept his eyes on hers as he held her hands and tried to convey in merely a gaze just how sorry he was, how much he didn't want to part from her…but how it was the only way.

The two of them had been so happy before entering the speakeasy, almost giddy with excitement just at the simple idea of 'talking'…of finding out where this magical thing between them could go…and now that talk was never going to happen. It felt somewhat cruel that their time together was over so fast, when they hadn't even got started. But at least he had known it briefly. In the short time they had known each other, Daisy had shown him how precious and funny and dangerous and wonderful life could be, and in doing so it felt as if she had found a missing part of him. He would have been lost forever if it hadn't been for meeting her. Daniel knew that, if he had the chance, if he had the opportunity to continue where he had left off back in his own time, he would still choose this chaotic, trauma-filled week with Daisy over going back to the fifties and living the rest of his life there.

But there was no choice now. He had to do this. It was only right…even if it meant having to let her go.

'If the army taught me anything, it's that…' Daniel murmured, trailing off slightly as he cradled her hands gently in his own, and he took a deep breath, overwhelmed with love for Daisy in that moment as she gazed tearfully at him. 'It's that you can't be-'

But he was interrupted by the rude sound of a loud raspberry being blown behind him.

Daniel turned around indignantly, Daisy's hands still held firmly in his, as he fixed Deke with a sharp look. Deke had his thumb held down and was looked extremely unimpressed.

'I'll stay,' Deke said, his tone resigned but firm, and Daisy felt Daniel's hands tense in her own as everyone stared at him in surprise.

'Deke-' Mack protested, but Deke cut over him.

'First of all, I'm the one with the scientific knowledge to be able to re-patch the power,' Deke pointed out, as Fitz watched him, looking rather forlorn. 'Danny-boy over here is still impressed by a light bulb.'

'That's…not accurate or nice,' Daniel interjected with a frown, and Daisy felt a slight smile flicker momentarily on her face as he turned around to face Deke, keeping one hand firmly in hers.

Deke turned to face them both. 'And second, seems like you and Daisy have a real thing going, and I…' He trailed off, lost for words, as he looked at them both stood there; he smiled sadly as his gaze fell on Daisy. 'I just want you to be happy.'

His voice shook slightly when he said it, his eyes suddenly rather wet. Suddenly Daisy felt a surge of warmth as she gazed at him. Daniel had been right; she had been too harsh on Deke. He had always deserved more appreciation. And now she was too late to see how much of an amazing friend he had come to be.

Daisy tilted her head at him, emotional. 'Deke,' she began, as Daniel smiled softly at him, deeply touched, but Deke pressed on loudly before she could say anything that would make him lose his composure.

'And third,' he said, turning to Fitz, 'as long as you reconnect with Nana and then, you know… _connect_ …then maybe you'll see me again someday.'

'Deke, that-'

But Fitz cut over Daisy again, his mind made up. 'And honestly…I'm kind of a rock God here anyway,' he said, smiling.

There was another silence as the team began to exchange sad smiles with each other. None of them knew what to say. They were all bereft and slightly stunned. Who would have thought that the selfish, silly scavenger they had met in 2091 would have ended up doing this? There was a rather bittersweet atmosphere in the air as they all looked back at him and Deke smiled.

'All right, people. No time to argue,' Deke said loudly, clapping his hands as he looked around at all the assembled agents in the bar. 'I've already made up my mind, now let's get to it!'

Fitz beckoned Mack and Coulson over to work on disassembling the Quantum Bridge device to take on board the Zephyr, while the other agents dashed around offering to help however they could, even though they didn't really have much of an idea about what was going on. Daniel and Daisy stayed stood there for a moment, stunned, before turning to face each other, their lips parted. Daisy kept her hands in his, as if afraid to let go. Was it terrible that she felt relieved? What a silly thought – of course it was, she knew it was. She turned to face Deke, who she adored so much, and felt a pang of overwhelming guilt.

Looking rather dazed, Daniel let go of Daisy and touched her cheek gently with his hand before walking over to Deke.

'Deke, I-' he began, but Deke held his hand up.

'I told you, my mind's made up,' Deke said firmly.

'But it's not-'

Deke cut over his protests. 'Sousa, it's fine. Honestly. The eighties were _made_ for me. I'm in my element,' he said, and Daniel couldn't tell whether he was putting on the enthusiasm just to make him feel less guilty or if he was being genuine. 'And we both know I'm better suited to get this up and running.'

'But I'm…you've been with these guys longer than I have, they're your family – I mean, literally, they _are_ your family!' Daniel pointed out, indicating Fitz and Jemma over at the other end of the room.

'And I'll seek them out in a few decades' time. I'll see them again,' he said, nodding quickly as if trying to convince himself as he averted his gaze from his grandparents. 'I'll be okay. No, I'll…I'll be amazing.'

A sad smile appeared on Daniel's face. 'I don't doubt it. But it still doesn't seem fair when I've only just-'

Deke interrupted him with an exasperated groan. 'Look, enough! Yeah, you're the new guy, so what? Why should that even matter?' he said, and he sighed as he tilted his head at him. 'You've saved us all multiple times since you got here! You saved Daisy at the barn, Daisy told me none of us would have survived the time storm if it hadn't been for you helping, you came up into space to save me and Jemma, you made a friggin' suicide bomb to take out the Chronicoms! I mean…if you're trying to say you don't deserve a spot with the team, your argument's falling pretty thin on the ground.'

Daniel fell silent, too conflicted and guilt-ridden to find the words. He was grateful to Deke, he truly was – the last thing he'd wanted was to leave Daisy and his new friends – but he still felt rather uneasy about the whole situation.

Deke smiled, as if he could read his mind. 'Besides…you don't seem the kind of guy who would wanna break her heart,' he said, and he glanced over at Daisy, who had now moved over to Yo-Yo to help take care of the nasty wound on her arm.

Daniel followed his gaze and felt his heart skip as he looked at Daisy. Deke was right; that was the last thing he would want to do. He turned back to Deke resignedly.

'Just…I'd say, 'look after her' but…I know I don't need to,' Deke murmured, a soft look in his eyes. 'And Sousa. Good luck in your new life…when you get there.'

Daniel looked at him for a moment then smiled. 'You too,' he said sincerely, and he reached out for Deke's hand; Deke was confused at first, but then remembered that old people still shook hands, so he took Daniel's hand and shook it. 'Thank you, Deke. Really. Thank you.'

Deke nodded, smiling, before walking away to help the others take apart the Quantum Bridge device, leaving Daniel stood there in a bit of a daze. He felt very strange now that he knew he wasn't staying behind. His mind and heart were still rather overwhelmed after the rollercoaster of emotions that had just whirled through him in this past five minutes alone where his life had changed from one course to the next in quick succession. He was overwhelmed with relief and hope…yet also guilt. And not just guilt at what Deke was doing in his place.

Daniel's eyes fell once again to Daisy, who was now talking to Fitz. He felt awful, knowing what he had almost done. He had promised Mack that he would never hurt her, and yet he had offered to stay behind here. He supposed he hadn't realised until the moment he'd seen the look on her face just how much it would have hurt her, if he'd stayed, and by that time it had been too late to go back on his word…until Deke had stepped in, anyway.

He'd known for a while that Daisy cared for him, and since his talk with Mack in the Quinjet he'd known that she reciprocated his feelings, but he hadn't realised just how _much_ she'd reciprocated them until now. How could he have been mad enough to consider leaving her? He'd just thought he'd been doing the right thing, but as he gazed over at Daisy now, he realised that sometimes what he believed to be the right thing wasn't always the best option. Sometimes you were allowed to do what you wanted. Sometimes you could follow your heart, rather than your head. And sometimes, just sometimes, you could do something for yourself and choose happiness. He had to believe that. It was very hard not to, as his eyes locked with Daisy's across the bar now.

Daisy exhaled rather shakily as she took in the tender look in Daniel's eyes as he gazed across the room at her, and despite everything – her anger at him for what he had almost just done, her pain and guilt at the thought of never seeking Deke again, her despair at the idea of losing this team once all this was over – she felt herself begin to smile.

Fitz chuckled softly to himself as he watched her beside him; Daisy tore her gaze away from Daniel and looked up at him curiously. 'When I found out about you and him, I thought, 'what – the – _hell_?'. Made no sense at all,' he said, shaking his head. 'But I see it now. Can't believe I bloody missed it happening.'

Daisy frowned, bewildered, as she tried not to blush. 'What do you mean, when you found out? Wh…you've only just got here.'

But Fitz simply smiled. It was then when Daisy remembered that Fitz had said he'd seen many versions of how the timeline would unfold. A little dazed, Daisy turned away only to see that Daniel had approached them both.

'Uh…hello,' Daniel said, looking at Fitz as if intimidated by him, and he held out his hand. 'Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Daniel S-'

'Sousa. Yeah, I know,' Fitz said eagerly, and to Daisy's astonishment he looked almost giddy as he gripped Daniel's hand and shook it. 'Sorry, just having a little bit of a fanboy moment here. You're…you're Daniel Sousa.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows at him, confused. 'Fanboy?'

'I-I'm Fitz. Leo Fitz.'

'Y-yes, I gathered,' Daniel replied, as Fitz finally released his hand. 'Heard a lot-'

But Fitz interrupted him enthusiastically. 'Agent Sousa, I'm a _huge_ admirer. Of your w-work, of…well, just of you, really.'

Daniel was taken aback. This man seemed far from the mysterious, agitated, omniscient master of time-travel who had just spoken to them all about time streams and Quantum Realms merely ten minutes ago.

Daisy stared at Fitz with an open mouth, perplexed. 'Uh…okay, Fitz, that's nice, don't freak him out,' she said, guiding Fitz slowly off to the side.

'What?' Fitz said innocently. 'This guy's the Coulson of his day!'

'I know, but you're acting like how you did when I first met you on the Bus and it's _weird_!' Daisy said, as they moved away from Daniel.

Fitz's beam faded slightly. 'Oh, right. Sorry.'

'No, don't be. It…it's nice,' Daisy said, smiling softly at him.

She felt rather nostalgic all of a sudden as she thought back to young innocent Fitz, with his endless cardigans and his monkey obsession and his nerdy babble. He had gone through so much since then; well, they all had, but Fitz in particular had been put through the ringer…the brain damage he had sustained after Ward had dropped him and Jemma into the ocean, the Framework, the Doctor…Daisy closed her eyes as she remembered the other Fitz's psychotic break, when he'd forcefully removed her implant, before getting himself killed. But no, she couldn't think of that. As far as _this_ Fitz was concerned, none of that had happened. It was water under the bridge now. And she still loved him dearly. His brief interaction with Daniel just now had shown that he was still, deep down, the Leopold Fitz she had first met on the Bus all those years ago. He just looked a little older, and had somehow managed to create time travel and had the power, knowledge and authority to tell them all exactly how they could travel between timelines and save the world. No big deal.

'And I get it,' Daisy went on now, glancing over at Daniel. 'Really. I'm a fanboy, too. Well…fan _girl_.'

Fitz raised his eyebrows at her. 'Oh, I know,' he assured her, clapping her on the back before calling back over to Daniel. 'Nice to finally meet you anyway, Agent Sousa! Let's grab a beer when all this is done, we have lots to catch up on!'

Still looking a little dazed, Daniel raised his hand and waved to Fitz, nodding at him in agreement, as Fitz backed away and headed back to Jemma, who was sat in the corner while May tried to help her deal with her overwhelming emotions and confusing memories.

Daisy shook her head in disbelief as she walked back over to Daniel by the bar counter. 'Wow. I, uh…I haven't seen him act like that in years,' she said, and she smirked at Daniel. 'I bet he had posters of you up in his dorm while he and Simmons were studying at the Academy.'

'That's…not creepy at all,' Daniel said, bemused.

They both looked at each other then, left alone for the first time since Deke had volunteered to stay behind. Neither of them quite knew what to say. After a few seconds, Daisy then reached her hand up and hit his arm before she even knew what she was doing.

Daniel looked at her indignantly; it hadn't hurt at all, which he knew had been a deliberate choice on Daisy's part, but the gesture was clear. 'What was that for?' he asked.

'What do you think?'

Daisy almost choked the words out. She'd been bottling it up, trying to carry on like everything was fine, but it was no use. He had been doing a selfless act when he'd volunteered to stay, one that made her somehow even more devoted to him, and yet she couldn't help feeling angry. She loathed herself for it, she knew it was selfish and ungrateful, but that was just how she felt. And she knew that in order for this to work with Daniel, she needed to be open and honest with him, always.

'You were just…okay to stay behind?' she murmured. 'Like it was no big deal? Like…like we hadn't just said we were gonna talk about…well, about us?'

It would have been better if she'd shouted; the quiet sadness in her voice made Daniel's heart sink.

'You _know_ I wasn't okay with it, Daisy,' he said, and he took both her hands in his. 'But I'm the one who's an anomaly here, I-I shouldn't be alive, I shouldn't be in this time…it's-it's not fair on the rest of you, I just thought it made sense that I should be the one to stay-'

'Well you thought wrong,' Daisy said, her voice shaking slightly.

Daniel shook his head helplessly; he didn't know if there was anything he could say to make it better. 'I only wanted to help the team. To help you all get home.'

'I know that,' Daisy said, looking down.

'Anyway, you can hardly talk.' He said it without thinking, but found to his surprise that he didn't regret it when she looked up at him in confusion.

'What do you mean?' Daisy asked, frowning.

'Well you went onto that Chronicom ship and then told us not to wait for you. You were willing to be left behind, for the team,' Daniel pointed out. 'And I know you'd do it again in a heartbeat. I know you'll probably do it again when we go after Malick and Kora, once we get back to your timeline.'

Daisy floundered for a bit; she wasn't used to being called out like this. 'I-I can't change who I am, Daniel-'

'And I'm not asking you to. I'd _never_ ask you to do that,' Daniel said, squeezing her hands as he gazed at her, and she knew he was being sincere. 'I'm just saying…I understand. That's all. And I'm sorry about before but…it seemed right, to do what was necessary to get you all home safely and…and…'

He trailed off hopelessly; she was looking at him as if to say, _'and leave me?'_

Daniel tilted his head at her, a sympathetic look on his face. 'You know you would have been fine, if I'd stayed here,' he said softly. 'You've managed so far without me before you came to 1955.'

'Well a lot's changed since 1955. _I've_ changed,' Daisy said, the truth of her words only just hitting her now.

Daniel considered her words, then nodded. 'So have I,' he murmured.

Daisy knew he was right. If he had stayed behind, she _would_ have been fine, eventually, once she'd had time to mourn his loss – she was rather practised in that generally, after all. But she didn't want to just be fine anymore. She had been given a glimpse of what real happiness could be like – Daniel had helped her see that – and she didn't want to turn her back on that now.

'I'm sorry, Daisy,' he said quietly.

'No,' Daisy said at once, shaking her head, embarrassed by how she'd let her emotions get the better of her when all he'd been trying to do was the right thing. ' _I'm_ sorry. You were…you were just being you. And that's what I lo-like about you.'

They both knew she had almost said 'love', but she was too afraid to say it. She had never said that word to a man, at least in that context. She'd never thought she would. Ever. Perhaps she would prove herself wrong one day. She certainly hoped so.

Daniel then brought her close to him and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. She hugged him back tightly, closing her eyes as she rested her head against his chest. They could almost forget the chaos going on around them as the team and other agents hurried around talking about megawatts and energy and Quantum Bridges and imminent robot invasions.

'It's okay, though,' Daniel murmured, pressing his lips to her forehead before leaning away. 'I'm coming home with you now.'

'I know. I just…' Daisy trailed off as they broke apart from the hug and she looked across the bar towards Deke, as he and the others finished stuffing the Quantum Realm device parts into the bags. 'I just don't know how to say goodbye.'

Whether she was ready or not to say goodbye didn't matter, however; before they knew it, the Quantum Bridge parts had been stored away in separate bags and everything was set up at this end to channel the energy that would enable the Zephyr to carry the Chronicom fleet through with them to the original timeline. All that was left to do now was bid farewell to the man they had first hated yet grown to love dearly.

The team all took turns saying their own personal goodbyes to Deke. It was still getting quite some getting used to seeing May overcome with emotion, but it wasn't surprising to see Mack uncharacteristically upset; he and Deke had become close friends during their year trapped together in the eighties.

Daisy was one of the last ones to talk to Deke; she swallowed uncomfortably as she went up to him. 'Deke, I…I don't know what to say,' she murmured.

'You don't need to say anything. It's okay,' Deke said softly, and he gave her a reassuring smile. 'It would never have worked between us anyway.'

'I-I mean…yes. Agreed,' Daisy said awkwardly, glancing to the side. 'To be honest, I didn't even know that was on the table for you.'

But Deke was smiling at her. 'Oh you knew really, you just didn't wanna see it.'

Daisy sighed almost apologetically; perhaps he was right. She'd been clinging to the memory of Lincoln Campbell before. But now she'd let him go, at last. She was allowing herself to move on, to choose happiness with someone wonderful.

'Are you in love with him?' Deke asked softly, glancing over at Daniel as he waited for her by the speakeasy door.

Daisy looked taken aback by his question. 'I…I…that is…we've only known each other about a week, that's ridiculous,' she said, forcing herself to laugh as she followed his gaze and looked over at Daniel; her cheeks reddening slightly, she turned back to Deke. 'Besides, h-how can you even put a label on what 'love' really is? It's different with everyone.'

Deke tilted his head at her. He'd seen the look on her face when Daniel had volunteered to stay, like her whole world was collapsing. She would have been absolutely heartbroken if she had been forced to leave him behind.

'I'm happy for you, Daisy. Really,' Deke said warmly. 'He's a good guy. You deserve it.'

At this, Daisy couldn't help the tears from spilling. She hadn't realised until now just how much Deke meant to her, what an amazing friend he had been to them all. She hugged him tightly.

'I'm gonna miss you so much,' she whispered. 'I love you, man.'

She may not have meant it in the way Deke would have once wanted, but it meant the world to him to hear her say it and know that she meant it.

'Love you too,' Deke said as they broke apart, and he smiled at her, trying not to cry. 'Don't you forget about me.'

'Hey,' Daisy said, playfully punching his shoulder. 'How could I ever forget Deke Shaw?'

Deke laughed but then his smile faded and his eyes welled up as his gaze fell over her shoulder; Jemma and Fitz were waiting behind Daisy, both of them looking dismayed. Jemma couldn't remember or focus on much, but Deke had been the one thing she'd been sure of ever since the Chronicoms had interfered with her implant back on their ship. And Fitz…well, the unusual bond between him and Deke was special, to say the least.

A lump rose in Daisy's throat as she turned between them both. Then she tearfully gave Deke one last smile, a pat on the shoulder, and walked away towards Daniel, whose hand was already outstretched towards her, leaving Jemma and Fitz behind to say goodbye to their beloved grandson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I vividly remember when first watching this episode how my heart sank the moment Daniel said 'I'll stay' - I hadn't been expecting a happy ending for Dousy so thought they'd end up doing something similarly heartbreaking to Ten/Rose (any Doctor Who fans here?) - so I've never loved Deke more than in this episode haha! 
> 
> Can't believe it's been a month now since the show ended and there are still people here reading this and commenting, so thank you all so so much :) it really means so much to me! Next chapter should be up in a couple of days :)


	21. Into the Quantum Realm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next two chapters are slightly shorter in length just because it seemed to pace better - I'm away tomorrow but will finish the next chapter on Thursday! :) (and then there will be quite a few more chapters to come after that...I'm alarmed by how big this fic is becoming haha, I never expected this to happen when I first started writing it!!)
> 
> Hope you enjoy and thank you all so so much for your enthusiasm and support and kind comments, you're all amazing!

The street was pitch black and empty as Daisy and Daniel hurried after the others towards the Zephyr, carrying one of the bags containing a couple of the 0-8-4 devices that made up the Quantum Bridge. Realising that they didn't need to run, as they would have to wait for Jemma and Fitz before setting off anyway, they then slowed down to a walk, and Daisy glanced up at Daniel.

'So, err…what were you going to say back there?' she asked tentatively.

'Huh?'

'Before Deke jumped in and, y'know, volunteered. Only…it looked like you were about to give me a big speech in front of…well, literally everyone,' Daisy said, smiling slyly at him.

Daniel gave her a look of mock confusion. 'Uh…no, I don't know what you're talking about,' he said, an embarrassed sort of smile on his face; she loved the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. 'All you need to know is that…well, the basic gist of it was that…w-well, that I…uh, this is going terribly-'

'It's okay,' Daisy reassured him, chuckling softly.

'Well…you already know it, that's the thing,' Daniel said, smiling tenderly at her. 'I was _going_ to say that…even though I wanted to help you guys get home, I…I didn't want to leave you. Not when I just found you.'

Daisy felt her heart swell at his words. 'I found you first, actually,' she said, brushing her arm playfully against his as they walked along.

'True.'

With a smile, Daniel then stopped walking and took Daisy's hand; she stopped as well as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it, before clasping his hands around it and holding it close to her chest. It was an old-fashioned gesture, but one Daisy liked very much. She could feel his heart racing against her hand.

'This is crazy, isn't it?' she murmured, a little bemused.

'A little, yeah,' Daniel said, looking at her with an adorably soft expression on his face.

'I mean, we've only known each other, what, just over a week? I've never…I had no idea i-it could…be like this…' She trailed off, unable to find the words; she was too dazed by what had happened to her over merely the past few days, how Daniel Sousa had affected her so much.

'I know, me neither,' Daniel said quietly, and they both looked at each other a little nervously and laughed, both afraid and excited at the same time of what lay ahead of them.

'Guys?'

They both jumped and broke free of their little bubble to turn around in the direction of the voice; Coulson had come back for them, looking a little impatient.

He grimaced over at them. 'Sorry to ruin the moment, but we kinda need to-'

'Sorry, we're coming!' Daisy called back, pressing her lips together to keep herself from smiling.

She grabbed Daniel's hand, because it was the only natural thing to do, and together they ran after the others back to the Zephyr.

*****

Once back on the aircraft, Daisy helped Mack unload the rest of the Quantum Bridge device, and soon after, Fitz returned to help them reassemble it. Daisy chose not to mention Deke; she could see that Fitz's eyes were bloodshot, and to talk about it now would risk comprising this very delicate procedure. Daniel consoled Jemma and guided her to a seat on the command bridge while May flew the Zephyr out of New York and up back into space.

Leaving Mack with the time drive to go over the final procedure with Deke via the comms for one last time, Daisy headed over to the cockpit. Sure enough Daniel was there, stood just to the side behind the passenger seat while May flew them towards the fleet of Chronicom ships still floating there. Daisy sidled up to him and together they looked out at space and the surface of the planet.

Daisy grinned at him as she watched him gazing out at the view in awe. 'Still not over it?'

'Nope,' Daniel murmured with a smile. 'Don't think I ever could be.'

In that moment he felt like he would be perfectly happy to stay up here in the extraordinary wonders of space, with Daisy right by his side, forever…at least, he would, if it weren't for the spaceships filled with angry robots getting closer and closer towards them.

Right on cue, the portal from the Quantum Bridge then appeared directly ahead of them. May and Mack called out via the comms, and shortly afterwards the Zephyr was pulled through, towing the Chronicom fleet along with them. There was a strange tingling sensation as they all went through the portal, and it looked as if everything was moving in slow-motion and yet whooshing past at the speed of light at the same time, and then with a blinding flash of light, they had arrived.

'What the…?' Daniel trailed off in a daze as he and Daisy stared out of the window with open mouths.

Even Daisy was astonished at the sight before them, which was saying something, as she'd seen a hell of a lot out on her travels through the cosmos.

The Quantum Realm didn't look remotely like space, or Earth, or a vortex, or…well, _anything_ really. It was purple and vast, but it looked to be neither gas or liquid or air. There were huge strange yellow and black shapes looping backwards and forwards, and collapsing in on themselves, as well as balls of fire exploding in the distance. They moved through the magnificent ethereal space slowly, as if in slow motion. There seemed to be no end destination in sight, but Fitz had assured them that a portal would appear at the other end at the right time, to transport them through to the original timeline. It looked like something from out of this world completely, like they had been plunged into a whirlwind of colour and shapes where none of it made sense. It was like nothing any of them had ever seen before.

Once they had all taken a good look out of the windows, Daisy then accompanied Jemma to the medical bay with Mack and Coulson, to see if she could help in any way while Fitz attempted to restore Jemma's memory. After checking on the wound on Yo-Yo's arms, Daniel then went back to the cockpit and stayed there on his own for a while, watching open-mouthed as they soared past the strange shapes and balls of fire and mystical twinkling colours. He then heard the approaching footsteps of familiar heeled boots.

'Sousa,' May greeted, as she re-emerged in the cockpit. 'A word.'

Daniel's eyes widened slightly. _This can't be good._

'Agent May, have I-?'

'There's no need to be so scared, I don't bite,' May interrupted him with an exasperated roll of her eyes.

'I'm not sca-…oh. Sorry…keep forgetting you can…feel things,' Daniel said awkwardly.

'That's what I wanted to talk to you about,' May said, raising her eyebrows as she sat down on the pilot's seat next to him, and she sighed. 'Look…when you offered to stay behind, Daisy was…well, she was devastated.'

Daniel swallowed uncomfortably; did she really think he didn't already feel bad enough about that? 'I-I never meant to…upset her,' he said apologetically, too saddened by the thought to look May in the eye. 'I just…it hardly felt right for any of you to do it and…y'know, be trapped forever in a different dimension when I'm living on borrowed time as it is-'

'I know that. Believe me, I _know_ what you were feeling when you said it. And I commend you for it,' May said earnestly. 'But I also know you don't think Daisy feels as strongly as you do, and…well, I just wanted you to know that you're wrong.'

Daniel looked up at her, a little bewildered. 'That's…a bit invasive.'

'I know, I'm sorry,' May muttered, sounding almost cross. 'I can't help it, I just…'

'It's okay, I understand. Sort of,' Daniel said, and he smiled sympathetically at her. 'Daisy told me you weren't big on feelings. Before.'

'And now I'm turning into a relationship therapist, I know. Just my luck,' May said irritably, but when she next spoke her voice was much softer, her eyes imploring. 'You mean…a lot to her. A lot. I just thought you should know that.'

Daniel looked at her for a moment, then nodded slowly. 'Thank you, Agent May,' he said sincerely.

'And Sousa,' May said, getting up from her seat, 'if you threaten to stay behind or leave her again, I'll personally break both your arms.'

Daniel nodded. 'I understand.'

'Good.'

He thought he saw a hint of a half-smile on her face but before he could be sure, May had already left the cockpit. Feeling a rush of affection towards her, Daniel smiled to himself as he sat back in the seat and continued to look out at the Quantum Realm. He may be floating in the middle of no-man's land – quite literally – between timelines, surrounded by a deadly fleet of body-snatching robots…but at least he was with a team he already loved to bits, a team he would give his life for if need be. They were all marvellous people, and he was so lucky that they had found him. No matter what happened today with the Chronicoms and Malick, at least he would have that to hold onto.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the medical bay, Daisy was trying to encourage Jemma to trust Fitz, who Jemma was still a little wary of, as he tried to refresh her memory. She still couldn't remember what had happened, so Fitz took it slowly with Jemma and tried to get her to fill in what little blanks she could recall while he told their story to Daisy, Mack and Coulson.

Just before the events of Izel's and Sarge's demise at the temple a few weeks ago, Enoch had rescued Fitz and Simmons from a band of Chronicoms and taken them back to the jungle, where Flint had recreated a piece of the time monolith, to help Fitz and Simmons do 'what needed to be done'. Fitz, Simmons and Enoch had then picked Simmons' favourite star system – the Theta Serpentis system – to escape to, where they had been able to evade the Chronicoms while working on the time stream device Enoch had managed to steal. During that time, they had studied the time stream and tried to come up with solutions on how to save the team – and the world – from the Chronicoms' invasion. In the end, they had identified only one path that would give them a chance of success, and the three of them had built a time machine, as well as the implant that they knew they would need to use later for Jemma, and Coulson's L.M.D.. They had spent a few years converting the Zephyr to match the time drive's designs while also transforming it into a home for themselves while they'd lived their lives together.

Then, realising they could put off the inevitable no longer, they had jumped back to the moment they had left, while the rest of the team were engaged in battle at the temple with Izel and Sarge. Jemma had returned to the temple to rescue the others, save May from dying after Sarge's brutal attack by putting her in a stasis pod, and whisk them away in the time-travelling Zephyr just before the Chronicoms blew up the temple. Meanwhile, Fitz had stayed behind in the containment module, guarded by Piper and Flint, to establish the link between both timelines so that he could bring the team back home.

It was complicated, and Daisy could barely wrap her head around it all, but she was glad that things were slowly starting to fit together now. However, although Fitz's story had triggered certain parts of Jemma's memory, she still couldn't remember everything. Her mind was jumbled, and she was anxious and confused. Fitz looked broken as he watched her pace the room tearfully, clearly struggling to get to grips with what was going on in her mind.

Feeling desperate, Fitz then turned to Daisy, Coulson and Mack. 'Okay, I need to fill you guys in so you know what we're fighting for,' Fitz said, staring at all three of them pleadingly. 'So that we can…map out a plan together, and all be willing to do what needs to be done, no matter what the cost.'

Daisy was staring at him, almost afraid. She hadn't heard Fitz talk like this before. She was apprehensive about what else he had to say, but she trusted him, and she knew that they all needed to work together to figure out how to defeat the enemy flying on either side of the vessel. She left the medical bay briefly and asked Daniel to come and take Jemma away, so that the rest of them could discuss the options with Fitz and form a plan. Daniel obliged at once and guided Jemma out of the room, asking her soothingly if she would like something to eat or drink from the kitchen. Daisy smiled as she watched them go, before turning back to Fitz and pressing the button to shut the automatic door to the medical bay.

Fitz then proceeded to tell them everything; everything he had seen, everything he could predict, everything he thought could or couldn't work in the next few hours to come. He told them about Kora. He told them about May. He told them about what their powers combined should be able to do. He told them about what Daisy should have the strength and capability to do, though it made Coulson and Mack uneasy to hear him tell it. He told them about how they needed to ensure their timelines were set in stone at the temple, before their past selves were due to begin their time-travelling journey.

'Okay, I _think_ I'm getting it, it's all…sort of making sense now,' Daisy interjected, her head pounding, 'but…Fitz, I can remember what happened at the temple _very_ well…it was only, what, just over two weeks ago for us? And Simmons wasn't on her own when she came in to save us. Who were those other people, the ones in the hazmat suits? She never told us.'

'Right. About that,' Fitz said, with a slight grimace. 'We haven't actually got around to that part yet.'

'What do you mean?' Mack asked warily.

'We still need to fetch the reinforcements.'

Daisy stared at him. 'You don't mean…'

'Us? Yeah,' Fitz replied heavily. 'Well, the rest of us who aren't going for Kora and Malick anyway.'

'That's…' Daisy shook her head wearily as she sank back against the table. 'I think my brain is melting.'

Fitz raised his eyebrows; this next thing he had to say wasn't going to make things any easier for Daisy to process. 'There's one more thing you need to know. The most important thing,' he said to them all, and his voice shook slightly. 'What we're fighting for.'

Coulson took a step forward. 'Go on,' he urged.

Fitz hesitated and took a deep breath. 'W-well…while Jemma and I were away, we…we had a baby.'

There was a silence. Daisy, Coulson and Mack stared at Fitz, completely stunned. After realising that it wasn't some strange joke, they then crushed Fitz in a fierce hug, exclaiming with both glee and pity as they realised what he and Jemma had gone through, everything they had sacrificed. For a few blissful moments, Fitz allowed himself to put the Chronicoms and Malick and the terrifying readings of the time stream to the back of his mind, and he put his father hat back on and recounted tales of his and Jemma's precious miracle with a beaming, tearful expression.

Their daughter was called Alya; they had named her after the constellation they had fled to, Jemma's favourite star. She was four years old now. She loved the stars, just like Jemma, and she loved any stories and games relating to monkeys, just like Fitz. She was their everything.

And suddenly it all made sense to Daisy. Everything that had happened since the temple, and everything that was about to happen. They _had_ to succeed, no matter what the cost. For Alya. For their family.

Afterwards, Coulson left to find May in the cockpit and consult with her about their proposed plan. Daisy was acutely aware of her heart beating heavily against her chest as she went to go and find Daniel. She wondered how many beats she had left. When she bumped into Daniel in the corridor, it took her breath away; the sight of him made her overwhelmingly happy yet at the same time devastatingly sad. His hands fell automatically to her waist as he laughed softly at the way they'd nearly crashed into each other in the corridor, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Daisy wished it could last forever, but she knew now that that wasn't likely anymore.

'Hey,' Daniel said, as she smiled back at him. 'So what's the plan?'

'W-well…Fitz explained it all. And…I need to go after Kora,' Daisy said, her voice tremoring ever so slightly. 'He's right, she's the key to this. We can't stop the Chronicoms without her.'

Daniel exhaled deeply. 'Malick's still out there.'

'I know,' Daisy replied, averting her gaze. _That's the whole point._

Daniel's face was creased with worry; he sighed and cursed under his breath. 'I wish that guy would just put an egg in his shoe and beat it,' he muttered, his hands still on her waist.

Despite everything, Daisy felt her lips twitch. 'I…I…couldn't agree more.'

'Well…if Kora let you go, Malick will probably have her locked up, right? So I can try and get her out while you-'

But Daisy interrupted him firmly. 'No. You're…you're not coming with me,' she said, and Daniel's face fell.

'I'm not?'

'There's a better way you can help,' Daisy said, swallowing as she put her hands on his shoulders. 'Coulson's about to debrief us all now. Come on.'

They both headed to the command bridge, where everyone else was assembling, and Coulson and Mack then explained the situation. May was to fly Daisy, Coulson and Mack to the Chronicom ship in order for them to free Kora, stop Malick, and set their plan in motion to stop the Chronicoms attacking the planet. Meanwhile, Daniel, Yo-Yo, Fitz and Simmons were to head back to Earth and retake the Lighthouse…after a quick but very important detour to the temple.

While they crossed over from the Quantum Realm through the portal and re-entered the original timeline, a rather traumatised-looking Yo-Yo tried to catch Daniel up on what had happened at the temple as they clambered into blue hazmat suits. Once she'd finished explaining, Daniel wondered if his brain had finally reached maximum capacity and was just too overwhelmed with confusion to process anything else. He barely had any idea what was going on or what he was about to do at this temple…but he was happy to just roll with it, as long as he could help and keep everyone safe.

The team then split up to carry out the plan. While Yo-Yo headed off to the Quinjet to prepare for take-off, Daniel hung back to find Daisy; he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. He found her in the equipment room. She was stood by the healing chamber, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. It was if this room was her comfort, her therapy room now. Daniel then cleared his throat softly; Daisy turned around and nearly yelled out at the sight of him in the blue hazmat suit.

She barely stifled her laughter. 'Looking good,' she said, smirking.

Daniel shrugged playfully as he walked over to her. 'I try my best,' he said, flicking his visor jokingly so that it covered his face.

Daisy chuckled – the visor made him look even more ridiculous – but then her face fell as she realised what this meant. 'Are you…are you guys leaving now? For the temple?' she asked, her voice tremoring slightly.

'Yeah,' Daniel replied through his visor, as he closed the distance between them. 'Doesn't sound like _that_ was a fun day. Glad I missed it.'

Daisy smiled weakly. He didn't know that this was most likely the last time they would be in the same room together…at least from her perspective, anyway. He couldn't know. She slowly went up on her tiptoes, reached for Daniel's helmet with his hands, and kissed the top of his visor.

'I want this suit back in one piece, okay?' she said softly, as she leaned away. 'No stupid, self-sacrificing tricks or…whatever.'

Daniel turned off his visor then, and his eyes were tender as he gazed at her. 'Wouldn't dream of it,' he murmured, smiling.

Daisy's lips parted as she looked at him, at a loss with what to say. Neither of them wanted to say goodbye. They were both about to depart on separate, life-threateningly dangerous missions. They weren't sure if they would see each other again. Daisy knew deep down, particularly after everything had Fitz had said and the way he'd looked at her back in the medical bay, that there wasn't really a good chance of it. But there was still a chance that Daniel could make it. He had to. Daisy couldn't bear the thought of it if not.

'I'd, uh, better get going, we…' Daisy began, looking away from him as she fiddled anxiously with her gauntlets, but Daniel held her hands.

'Daisy, don't…' But then Daniel trailed off and shook his head with a sad sort of chuckle. 'Uh, there's no point in asking you not to do anything reckless, is there?'

'None whatsoever.'

Daisy tried to smile to reassure him, but then her face fell; she could see that he was worried. She almost wished he'd got his visor back on, so she didn't have to see that…the pain in his eyes, the way his forehead creased, the concern etched all over his skin. It made her feel like a hypocrite; after confronting him for being willing to leave her and sacrifice himself back in the safe house in 1983 in the other timeline, she was now going to do the exact same thing to him. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. But she had no choice. She had to do what needed to be done…for all their sakes, not just the planet's.

Daisy gripped both his arms. 'It has to be me. I have to be the one to take him down,' she said, her voice both firm and apologetic.

'I know,' Daniel murmured, and he smiled sadly as he reached up to brush a front strand of her hair back. 'I just…wish I could be there with you.'

Daisy smiled, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her. 'You will be. In a way,' she said, but then she grimaced as she heard what she had just said. 'Oh my God, I never knew I could be so corny. That's gross.'

Daniel laughed softly, then paused and chuckled again, as if her comment had deeply affected him somehow, before gazing at her and suddenly getting lost in her beautiful eyes. He then pulled his helmet down – after an awkward struggle – and leaned in to kiss her. Daisy wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, wanting to memorise the feel of his tender yet passionate lips on hers. His hazmat suit was rather bulky so got in the way a bit, but that only made them laugh between kisses as he pulled her even closer to him, his hands tightening against her waist.

They were then forced to remember that there was no time for this – remarkably similar to the realisation Daisy had been hit with in this very room the first time they had kissed during the time loops – and they reluctantly leaned apart, both grinning as she chased after his lips for one final kiss. Daniel rested his forehead against hers as they tried to put off the inevitable for as long as they could possibly get away with.

'You're coming back home, Agent Johnson. You got that?' he said, trying to encourage her.

Daisy closed her eyes, her lips trembling slightly. His words and fierce tone of voice reminded her of what he'd said to her in the barn in 1976, when she's been collapsed on his lap, slipping in and out of consciousness while he'd stroked her hair. It seemed so long ago and yet still so vivid. That was the day that everything had changed for both of them.

She forced herself to nod as she removed her forehead from his. 'Understood, Chief Sousa,' she said, her voice surprisingly calm and collected.

Daniel smiled. 'I'll see you later.'

He leaned away and grasped her hand; her fingers lingered in his before she reluctantly let go as he turned and left the room, giving her one last reassuring smile before turning to go and find the others in the Quinjet.

Daisy's smile faded the moment he had disappeared from the room, and she looked around the equipment room, her eyes lingering on the healing chamber and that uncomfortable steel chair, in a strange sort of daze. She knew what she had to do to defeat Malick and the Chronicoms. In a way she felt like she'd always known. She just wished that she and Daniel had had more time before it came to this.

Taking a deep breath, Daisy took one last look around the equipment room and then left, hastening to wipe away a stray tear as it trickled slowly down her scarred cheek.


	22. A Trip to the Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episodes 7x13 (and 6x13) of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest chapter (sorry!) but it seemed to pace better to have this section just in one chapter. I'll try and get the next chapter finished by tomorrow! Thanks as always for still reading and for your lovely feedback! :)

As she walked out onto the command bridge, Daisy almost immediately bumped straight into Fitz, who was guiding a still-confused Jemma along the corridor to join Yo-Yo and Daniel in the Quinjet.

Fitz looked relieved when he saw her. 'Daisy! I'm glad I caught you-'

'Yeah, I just wanted to…wish you guys luck, y'know,' Daisy said, swallowing nervously as she walked along down the narrow corridor with them.

'Y-yeah, well…same, I…oh, bloody hell, this hazmat suit is too _big_!' Fitz snapped suddenly as he barged straight into the wall, before glancing back at Daisy awkwardly and carrying on. 'Look…you know I said back at the safe house in New York that Jiaying was pivotal? Th-the reason was because…in the time stream I saw, w-well, as well as her convincing Kora, she…she could use her powers in reverse. As in, _give_ life energy rather than take it. We were depending on that for…' He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Daisy put a hand on his arm as they came to a halt just outside the Quinjet doors. 'Fitz. It's okay,' she said gently.

'No, no i-it's not,' Fitz said, his voice shaking as he looked down and fidgeted anxiously with his hand. 'I don't think you understand what I'm trying to-'

But Daisy interrupted him earnestly. 'No, I do. I understand. I messed up with my mom,' she said, but then she thought of what Daniel would say if he'd heard her say that. 'Well, no, Malick did, but still…we went off script for what you had planned. But we've figured it out another way. I know what I have to do.'

Fitz began to shake his head. 'Daisy, no, you-'

Daisy grabbed his arms. 'Fitz. I know the risk. And I know what we're fighting for. You've got to let me do this,' she said fiercely, and as she took him in her arms and hugged him tightly, she whispered in his ear, 'For Alya.'

At this, Fitz's eyes welled up and he gripped her back tightly, trying to convey without words just how overwhelmingly grateful he was to her. They had been through so much together, all three of them. And now their story was almost at an end. When they broke apart, Daisy turned to Jemma. Jemma's memories may not have fully returned yet, and she still looked rather perplexed as to what was going on, but the tearful look in her eyes told Daisy that Jemma could at least remember some element of the plan for how to end this all. The two best friends embraced tightly, Jemma trying her hardest not break into sobs.

'Good luck, Daisy,' she whispered, and it was such a relief for Daisy just to hear Jemma call her by her name, to know that she remembered at least a part of her.

Daisy squeezed her hand tightly when they broke apart. 'You too.'

She looked back at Fitz and nodded; nodding back at her, his chin quivering slightly, Fitz then put his hand on the small of Jemma's back and guided her up into the Quinjet, helping her adjust the helmet of her hazmat suit. Daisy watched them go, and her gaze fell to the cockpit, her heart stopping for a moment as she saw Daniel at the far end about to take his seat as he talked to Yo-Yo, going over their plan. As if he could feel her eyes on him, Daniel turned back and met Daisy's gaze. They looked at each other longingly.

The soft smile that appeared on Daniel's face said, _'we'll see each other again.'_

Daisy wanted to believe it. She so desperately wanted to believe it.

Exhaling shakily, she nodded at him; he nodded back reassuringly, just as the Quinjet doors slid shut for good.

'You good?' Yo-Yo asked Daniel; his eyes were still on the closed Quinjet doors.

'Y-yeah, I'm fine,' Daniel said distractedly, shaking his head as he tried not to think of the look in Daisy's eyes just before the doors had closed between them. 'Let's do this.'

'Strap in, everyone, prepare for take-off,' Yo-Yo announced loudly, and as Fitz and Simmons took their seats and buckled in, she turned to Daniel sat next to her with a raise of her eyebrows. 'You're coping pretty well with all this, you know.'

'Am I?' Daniel said with a weak chuckle as he strapped himself in.

'Well, look at where you are!' Yo-Yo pointed out, indicating the view of space from the front window.

Daniel nodded slowly; he couldn't argue with that. 'It's been one hell of a week, I'll admit.'

'Uh-huh, I'll say. You'll just go along with whatever it is we're doing, won't you?' Yo-Yo said with a chuckle, impressed. 'I can see now why Daisy likes you.'

Daniel scrunched up his face at her bemusedly. 'I… _think_ that's a compliment?' he said, and Yo-Yo smiled to herself as she flicked the switches on the panels.

'Turtle-man's gonna be asking for that twenty dollars the moment we touch base,' she muttered, rolling her eyes.

'Wait, what twenty dollars? And sorry – _'Turtle-man'_?' Daniel said incredulously; he assumed she was talking about Mack due to the fond look on her face – did Mack have some secret superpower at slowing down or something that no one had thought to mention to him before?

Yo-Yo merely grinned amusedly at him before pulling the lever on the flight deck and the Quinjet launched up from the roof of the Zephyr. They instantly began to fly towards Earth, Yo-Yo typing in the coordinates to the temple.

'She'll be okay,' Yo-Yo murmured, as Daniel watched the Zephyr carry on towards the main Chronicom ship through the window.

Daniel nodded as he turned back around. 'I know she will,' he murmured, but then he frowned as he looked at Yo-Yo; her fingers were shaking slightly as she locked onto the temple's destination on the navigation panel. 'Are _you_ okay?'

Yo-Yo hesitated and exhaled deeply before answering. 'I will be once we get this over with,' she said heavily.

The aircraft began to rumble and shake violently as they entered the planet's atmosphere; they fell silent and Daniel closed his eyes while this happened, though he could still see the red burn of the flames through his closed eyelids. Afterwards, it didn't take them long to fly to their destination.

The Temple of the Forgotten was based in Yucatán, Mexico. They found somewhere to land in the middle of the surrounding jungle, though once the engine had cut out, it took a while for Yo-Yo to bring herself to get out of her seat. She looked in quite a state, and it only made Daniel more apprehensive about what they would soon be facing.

'Fitz, isn't this some sort of paradox or something?' Yo-Yo asked, as she and Daniel left the cockpit.

Daniel frowned, confused. 'Wh-what does that mean?'

'It…we'll explain later,' Fitz replied heavily.

The four of them put their visors on and left the Quinjet to hunt for the Zephyr – or at least, an earlier version of the Zephyr from a few weeks ago, rather than the one currently infiltrating the Chronicom fleet above them in space – which was apparently parked nearby. To say that Daniel was confused was an understatement of almighty proportions; he barely had any idea what was going on, other than that they were now in the 21st century and had gone back to an old point in the team's own personal timeline, to an event just before they had begun time-travelling, and would be soon interacting with their past selves. Daniel's heart lurched unevenly at the thought; would Daisy be there, in this temple?

'Remember, we just need to recover the team and get the time monolith sample,' Fitz said calmly through the comms. 'That's the white stone, guys, not any of the others.'

'May will need urgent medical attention,' Jemma remembered, as they approached the Zephyr. 'We'll need to take the stasis pod for her.'

They walked up to the loading bay of the Zephyr, and Daniel felt a sad pang as his eyes fell on Enoch, stood there with Simmons by his side as always, as if they had both been expecting four random people in hazmat suits to come wandering out of the jungle to assist.

'Thank you for coming,' the earlier version of Simmons said; her voice was so calm and collected that she sounded almost like Enoch. 'We must move quickly and calmly.'

'Do not speak,' Fitz whispered to them all through the comms as they all followed Simmons into the Zephyr. 'Do not engage.'

'I'm just trying not to throw up in my helmet,' Yo-Yo muttered, sounding rather panicked.

'It'll be okay,' Daniel murmured, trying to calm her.

The others looked at him, surprised that out of everyone it would be him to be the reassuring one, but then Simmons and Enoch turned to face them and provided them with their equipment and instructions.

The four of them followed Simmons out of the Zephyr and on towards the ancient pyramidal temple, so that they could get to work on what needed to be done for the team's rescue and the time drive's completion. Once inside the temple, Simmons led them all to the ceremonial hall and they set up the floodlights as requested. Whatever fight that had been occurring in here was most definitely over now; the hall was silent only for a few sniffles; someone was crying. Simmons then gave them the signal, and they switched on the lights, flooding the place with a blinding light. Daniel looked down through his visor, and felt his face fall in dismay.

Down the steps in the centre of the hall, Daisy was crouched on the floor, cradling May in her arms. May's skin was ghostly white, with blood pouring from her mouth and her clothes. There was a huge stab wound in her chest. Daniel was shocked; from up here, it looked very much like she was dead. And yet he knew she wasn't, because he had met her and talked to her and bonded with her, and that had all happened in this team's future…

Not far away from Daisy, Mack was on the floor holding Yo-Yo in his arms by a stone pillar. Yo-Yo looked equally as pale and drained, with dried blood that looked almost black on her face and clothes. This must have been where the Shrike attack had happened; Daniel had heard about this briefly a few days ago.

Daniel's eyes fell once again to Daisy. She seemed to have been given no time to mourn for the woman lying in her lap. She was shaking slightly, and he could see the tear streaks on her face reflecting the glow of the floodlights as she stared up, too shocked to process what was happening, at the new arrivals in confusion.

'Sousa. We need to keep moving,' hissed Fitz's voice in the comms.

'Sorry,' Daniel whispered, and he followed Yo-Yo down the steps towards the centre of the hall.

Daisy breathed heavily as they all approached. Her eyes were only on Simmons.

'She'll be fine,' Simmons said calmly, looking over at May's body.

Now that he was closer to her, Daniel could see that Daisy was still crying. He hated to see her so distressed and not be able to do anything about it. It was so hard for him not to be able to hug her, or even just speak words of reassurance. But he knew that he just had to walk past and get on with what needed to be done as quickly as possible. He couldn't say anything to her, no matter how much he wanted to. Fitz had said very clearly that they couldn't speak. And besides, Daisy had no idea who he was.

Fitz and Jemma in their hazmat suits were bringing the stasis pod over now to put May's body in. While the early version of Simmons bent down to inject May with a fancy formula to stabilize her, Daniel and Yo-Yo headed over to the white monolith, as instructed, where they began drilling to collect a sample.

Simmons hadn't told them much about the white monolith, only that it could transport individuals or objects across time. Daniel realised then that this strange piece of white stone, whatever it was, was the key to them being able to travel to the past. It all came down to this.

'We'll repair her tissue in a few hours when she reaches the correct core temperature,' Daniel could hear Simmons saying to Daisy, trying to reassure her.

There were still tears trickling down Daisy's face. She was confused. She didn't understand. What was going on? How could May possibly survive what had just happened to her?

The present-day Jemma and Fitz finished lifting May inside the stasis pod while the past version of Simmons urged Mack that they all needed to move and leave the temple as quickly as possible.

Daniel stored the monolith sample in the jar he'd been provided with, and began to leave, only to pause slightly. Daisy hadn't got up from the ground yet. She was still in shock.

Close to, Daisy didn't look any different, aside from an interesting purple streak in her hair. It was hard to comprehend that only a few weeks had passed for her since this moment here in the temple.

'Wh…I don't understand, what's happening?' Daisy was saying, shaking her head as she tried to make sense of it all. 'May-'

'May is going to pull through,' Simmons said firmly, gripping Daisy by the shoulder. 'But we need to move. The temple isn't safe.'

Simmons led the way, with Fitz and Jemma following close behind, carrying May in the stasis pod. It was bizarre for Daniel to watch, knowing that there were two versions of Jemma in the same room.

'Daisy,' Mack called, as he helped Yo-Yo up the steps.

'I-I'm coming.'

Daniel turned back to Daisy. She was still on the floor, staring with dazed, bloodshot eyes at the dusty ground. More tears were falling, though it wasn't clear whether they were out of relief that Simmons seemed so confident that May would be all right, or out of guilt, shock and trauma over what had just happened at the temple.

Daniel couldn't help himself. He reached out from behind and put a hand on her shoulder. Daisy jumped at his touch and looked up at the stranger in the hazmat suit with the visor covering his face.

'You need to move. Now,' he said firmly, glad that the visor muffled his voice somewhat; he couldn't risk her recognising the sound of his voice when she would later go on to meet him in Area 51.

Daisy stared up at him from the ground, bewildered. 'Wh-who _are_ you?' she asked.

Daniel swallowed, wishing there was more he could say, wishing he could remove his visor so that she could see his face.

'Everything's going to be fine,' he told her, his voice steady and reassuring.

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd held his hand out to her. Daisy looked at his gloved hand for a moment, an uncertain frown on her face, her lips parted in confusion. She looked back up at his helmet, as if hoping that if she looked hard enough she might be able to see the face of the mystery man through the visor. And then, after a short silence, Daisy's frown faded. She tentatively reached up and placed her hand in his. Relieved, Daniel gently helped her up to her feet. Strangely, she kept her hand in his as she straightened up and looked at him. The tears had stopped falling now. For some reason, she felt a bizarre sense of calm wash over her.

'Go,' Daniel urged, resisting the impulse to give her fingers a squeeze.

Daisy looked at him for a moment, her hand still lingering in his, and she opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything Deke was calling her, urging her to hurry up. Daisy let go at once, took one last confused look at Daniel, and then hurried after the rest of her team.

Daniel smiled slightly as he watched her go, before turning to leave himself. It was only then when he noticed Yo-Yo in her hazmat suit still stood by the monolith, looking at him.

'What?' he said innocently. 'She needed to get out.'

Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell that Yo-Yo was rolling her eyes. 'You guys are cute, you know, I'll give you that,' she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice as she said it.

Once they'd all left the temple and returned to the Zephyr, the past version of the team looked around the vessel in wonder.

'How did you do all this?' Daisy was asking Simmons in awe, stunned.

'We had help, and we had time,' Simmons replied, as she indicated to her future self and Fitz where to take the stasis pod containing May. 'Give Yo-Yo her breathing apparatus.'

Yo-Yo herself complied with this request, handing the apparatus over to Mack and her past self, who was sat on the seat looked weak, terrified exhausted…but alive.

'Set the chamber temperature to minus 68 degrees,' Simmons went on.

'Where's Fitz?' Deke asked.

'I don't know,' Simmons replied in an empty voice, her face hardening slightly as she looked away. 'I can't know.'

Daniel could sense how painful it was for Jemma and Fitz to see Deke now, knowing that this would be the last time they would ever see him; they had both appeared extremely forlorn when they had followed the rest of the team onto the Zephyr after bidding farewell to their grandson at the safe house in New York in the other timeline. The guilt was threatening to consume Daniel's mind again, but then he thought of what Deke had said to him back in the speakeasy…and he thought of Daisy's face when she'd known that he would be staying with the team after all, her soft smile, her tender eyes, her hands in his. A smile broke out on his face as he watched her past self through his visor now, completely oblivious of who he was under that suit and what was to come for them both, what a crazy adventure life had in store. It was incredible, really, to think how so much could change for a person in just a matter of weeks.

While the past version of the team continued to look around the upgraded Zephyr in awe and confusion, Daniel and Yo-Yo headed to the jump drive to insert the core sample he had taken from the time monolith, just as they had been instructed to do so. Daniel felt immensely strange as he secured the monolith sample in its allocated place – by doing this, he was fitting the final piece onto the modified Zephyr that would ensure that the ship would be able to continue to travel back in time, and thus for the team to meet him in Area 51 and for him to take an instant shine to Daisy in 1955. He was securing his own destiny. What came first, he wondered? How did it all work?

While he finished inserting the monolith sample in the time drive and pondered on the complex nature of space-time and fate, he overheard Simmons as she explained their complicated, mysterious situation to the team. The Chronicoms wanted to turn Earth into Chronyca-3, and they believed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was the only thing in their way, so their goal was to destroy everything within S.H.I.E.L.D. – which they had to prevent however they could, no matter what. The Lighthouse had fallen under Chronicom control, and Simmons and Fitz couldn't know where the other was in order to protect them against the Hunters. Listening to it put basically like this, it actually sounded rather simple to Daniel…but of course he knew that things wouldn't turn out as straightforward for the team as they were hoping in the days to come.

Once they had completed their tasks and Jemma and Fitz had finished treating May in the healing chamber, the four of them then headed to the loading bay to prepare to leave. Simmons met them there, and thanked them for their help. Daniel couldn't help wondering if this past version of Simmons knew exactly who was under these suits; she and Fitz had studied the time stream after all. Before he could try to determine Simmons' expression, however, he was then distracted by Daisy, who had emerged on the loading bay as well. She had clearly followed Simmons out of curiosity.

Simmons glanced at Daisy then turned back to them all. 'I wish you all safe travels,' she said to them pointedly. 'Thank you again for everything.'

Daniel and the others nodded and turned to walk away, but then Daisy's voice spoke up from behind.

'Wait, but who are those guys? Where did they come from, why…-?'

'Keep moving, don't look back, keep moving,' Fitz whispered to them urgently through the comms as Daisy continued to ask Simmons for more information; Daniel obliged, though it was hard to do so.

'Daisy, they need to leave so we can fly out of here before-'

But Daisy cut over Simmons. 'No, wait!'

Daisy hurried after the retreating suited figures and headed straight for the one closest to her; Daniel closed his eyes as she grabbed him by the arm and turned him around.

'How did you know to come? Who are you?' Daisy asked him loudly.

Daniel simply stared back at her. He didn't know what to do. He could hear Fitz', Simmons' and Yo-Yo's tense breathing through the comms in his helmet and yet none of them were coming to his rescue. They were all thrown.

Daisy exhaled sharply in frustration. 'Why are you here?' she demanded, her eyes fixed on Daniel's through his visor.

' _You,'_ was what he wanted to say. But he couldn't. He couldn't say anything, other than the one thing he dared: 'Good luck, Agent Johnson.'

Daisy's mouth fell open, at a complete loss with how to respond.

Daniel then turned and left with the others; he could feel Daisy's confused eyes on them, too confounded to follow, and with that they disappeared through the trees into the jungle to return to the Quinjet.


	23. The Only Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Daniel, Yo-Yo, Fitz and Simmons soon set off on the Quinjet to head over to the Lighthouse. Retrieving the team and monolith sample back at the temple had been the easy part; now they had to somehow retake their underground base from an army of Chronicoms.

While they travelled back towards the Lighthouse – having narrowly avoided the Chronicoms' attack on the temple – they found out that the others back up in space had managed to successfully land the Zephyr on the main Chronicom ship without being seen. Sybil had been distracted trying to fire at the earlier version of the Zephyr instead, containing the past version of the team that Daniel and the others had just accompanied back from the temple, before they had jumped to 1931 at just the right time to begin this whole circus.

Daniel's head was pounding as he tried to make sense of it all, but he was deeply relieved to hear that the others had landed successfully without detection. As they flew to the Lighthouse, Yo-Yo handed him her earpiece so that he could speak briefly to Daisy over comms.

'Daisy, it's me,' he said, clutching to the earpiece to him with a sense of desperation.

'Hey,' Daisy said, sounding relieved. 'You good?'

Daniel gave a weak chuckle as he looked out of the window; they were high above the clouds, higher by far than any ordinary plane, to reach the Lighthouse as quickly as possible. He could see what felt like practically all of America down below, and it was extraordinary.

'My brain has officially melted, as you would say,' Daniel replied dryly. 'I just saw you at the temple.'

Daisy exhaled deeply. 'God, that's weird. Y-you were there, that's…that's so weird,' she said, struggling to wrap her head around it, and then it dawned her. 'Wait…were you the guy who spoke to me?!'

Daniel smiled. 'I certainly was.'

'Oh, my God. You helped me up, I remember!' Daisy said, completely dazed. 'That…'

She could remember vividly just how frustrated she'd been at Jemma that day for not explaining who those mysterious helpers were – well, for not explaining _anything_ really – but then they'd had to fly away from the temple in a rush to avoid the Chronicoms' nuclear attack, and then the subsequent revelation that they had arrived in 1931 seemed to have put those strange people in hazmat suits straight to the back of her mind. But Daisy had still remembered the strange man in the suit who had helped her to her feet and told her that everything was going to be fine. She'd had no idea then just how important that man would become in her life. It was kind of magical to think of now, in a way.

'I know. Crazy, right? Wh-where are you now?' Daniel asked her, trying to sound cool and unconcerned.

'Oh, y'know,' Daisy said airily, 'just about to break into our favourite robot ship.'

Daniel nodded slowly, trying not to panic at the thought. 'Well that's peachy,' he said sarcastically, but then he closed his eyes and grimaced as Yo-Yo turned around to pull a face at him. 'Dammit! Sorry.'

But Daisy was chuckling softly. 'Why are you sorry?'

'I'm trying to learn…modern talk,' Daniel said awkwardly.

'I don't want you to.'

'No?' Daniel said, smiling, as Yo-Yo steered the Quinjet down and they began their descent towards the lake.

'No,' Daisy said firmly, and he could picture her with that fond grin on her face as she said it. 'Your own kind of talk is great, I love it.'

An unsteady smile broke out on Daniel's face as he held the earpiece tightly, wishing beyond anything that he could be there with her. After seeing her past self in such distress and uncertainty back at the temple, he just wanted to hold her hand and see her face and stroke her hair and tell her that everything was going to be all right, even know neither of them knew it would be. The hard part was yet to come, and it was killing him that they were apart for it.

'Try…' His voice cracked and he broke off, clearing his throat before trying again. 'Try not to stay in space too long. I know it's nice up there but we've still got our date, remember? You're gonna tell me all your stories of life with S.H.I.E.L.D.?'

'Is that a date? I don't remember you actually asking me out,' Daisy said playfully.

Daniel chuckled, but he could feel his eyes stinging slightly as his laughter eventually died out, and he took a deep breath. 'Daisy, I just wanted to say…-'

But then there was a sudden jolt. Daisy could hear Yo-Yo beside him saying to prep for landing; they had almost arrived at the Lighthouse, and would no doubt have a few Hunters placed on guard waiting to greet them. Daisy ran a hand through her hair agitatedly as she clutched the earpiece to her ear; he wasn't safe down there, none of them were.

Daniel groaned. 'Sorry, Daisy, I've gotta go,' he said sadly.

'It's okay,' Daisy reassured him, though her voice shook ever so slightly. 'Thanks for checking in.'

'I'll see you when you get back,' he said, and a lump rose in Daisy's throat. 'Go get 'em, Quake.'

Daisy couldn't help smiling. 'I swear to God, if you call me that one more time-'

'You'll what, quake me?' Daniel said, grinning.

Daisy closed her tear-filled eyes as she chuckled, and she paused. 'Daniel, I-'

But then the signal cut out abruptly. Daisy exhaled shakily; the Quinjet must have begun its descent down the waterfall to the underground base. She'd lost him. That had been her last chance to speak to him.

Blinking away the tears threatening to spill, Daisy tried to focus on what was happening around her. They were about to infiltrate the Chronicom ship, having just found a way through the roof. Mack and May had gone ahead to find a good location to blast their way through onto the upper levels but Coulson was hovering there beside Daisy, watching her in concern, as she removed her earpiece.

'Are you okay?' he asked her gently.

Daisy looked at him and swallowed. 'Yeah,' she replied, though they both knew it was a lie, and Coulson took a few steps towards her with a fatherly look in his eyes.

'You don't have to do this, you know,' he said.

But Daisy was shaking her head. 'Yes, I do. We both know it's…it's the only way,' she said as she led the way on after May and Mack.

Coulson walked alongside her, his eyes never leaving her face. Daisy could still hear Daniel's voice in her ears, she could still see the way he'd looked at her before the Quinjet doors had slid shut between then, she could still feel his lips on hers, his hands cradling her own. She couldn't stand it any longer.

'Hey,' Daisy said to Coulson as they marched on. 'If I don't make it through this-'

But Coulson stopped walking and held her by the arm. 'Daisy, we don't _know_ for sure that-'

'No, please. Just listen,' she said urgently. ' _If_ I don't make it through this, y-you'll look after Sousa, won't you?'

Coulson's lips parted in surprise. 'Of course we will,' he said, as if offended she would think otherwise. 'He's part of the team.'

'Well he is now, but that won't mean anything after this, will it?' Daisy said helplessly, her breathing coming out unevenly. 'If Fitz and stupid time stream is right, we won't be a team anymore.'

'But we'll still be a family. Always,' Coulson said firmly, gripping both her arms. 'And that includes Agent Sousa now.'

Daisy considered him for a moment, saw the sincerity in his eyes, and gave him a shaky nod as she blinked away more tears. 'If things go south, tell him I…tell him…'

She closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. She couldn't say it. She was too afraid to. Even though she knew it was true now and that she may not survive, she was still too scared to say it.

'Oh, he knows,' Daisy muttered, averting her gaze.

Coulson tilted his head at her, wishing she wouldn't talk like this. She could see that Coulson was in denial, perhaps just as much as she was. He couldn't accept what Fitz had implied back on the Zephyr, when they'd formed the plan.

'You're…you're _so_ loved, Daisy, by all of us,' Coulson said, and he inhaled sharply, a little stunned by the strength of emotions that his programming was allowing him to feel. 'I hope you know that.'

Daisy smiled at him with trembling lips. 'I do. And I hope you know how loved you are too, Coulson. By everyone in this team, b-by everyone who has _ever_ looked up to you in S.H.I.E.L.D….and…and by no one more than me,' she said, choking up slightly. 'L.M.D. or human. They're one and the same.'

They both crashed into each other's arms simultaneously and hugged each other tightly, father and daughter as they always would be. Coulson knew that he would have cried if he'd had the ability. Eventually they broke apart, gave each other a reassuring nod, and wordlessly hurried on after the others; they reached Mack and May just as they blew a hole in the floor so that they could get down to the level below.

Daisy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before jumping through, determined. She knew what she was about to face. She knew what she had to be brave enough to do. And she knew for sure now that she would do it without question. She had to. For Fitz and Simmons, for their little girl Alya, for Daniel, for Coulson, for all of them. For her whole family. Because there was nothing else in the world that mattered more to Daisy than that.

*****

The alarms were blaring loudly in the Lighthouse. Yo-Yo quickly managed to take out the Chronicom guards with a few super-speed punches, stunning Daniel, as they made their way to the control room. Luckily, this room was clear…but they knew that the Hunters would be on other levels of the base, and it would only be a matter of time before they found them, along with the other army of Hunters that Sybil would soon be sending down here.

The goal was relatively straightforward: for Kora to project May's empathic powers and channel them in the direction of the Lighthouse, to fire the signal into the Chronicoms and stop their attack. The only problem was that a lot of it depended on the team up there, in the Chronicom ship; the rest of them down here were limited in what they could do. Daniel hoped that Daisy and the others were doing okay. He wished he'd had longer to speak to Daisy over the comms. He couldn't stop thinking about her, up there with all that fire and fury and strength.

' _Took as much blood and spinal fluid as I thought she could handle, a couple of glands…' … 'If it doesn't work, we'll switch from needles to knives…'_

Daniel closed his eyes, trying to block out the haunting image of Nathaniel Malick in that blood-stained apron and mask, smiling slyly over at Daisy's feebly stirring figure that he'd dumped on the barn floor. Daniel knew that Daisy would stop at nothing to take him out after what that monster had done to her and her mother, and he couldn't blame her. He just had to pray that it would be enough…and that she wouldn't go too far.

_Come back, Daisy. Please come back._

Daniel opened his eyes, focussing now, as he walked into the room. 'Anything I can do to help point the antennas in the right direction?' he offered, trying to keep himself occupied, as the doors sealed them in the control room.

'Can you rewire the capacitor connections to bypass the network backbone?' Fitz asked him sceptically, as he got out his equipment to fiddle with the controls.

Daniel froze; he didn't understand anything that Fitz had just said. 'Nope,' he said simply, and Fitz grinned.

'We were here,' Jemma said then, remembering, as she gazed over at Fitz. 'He said it'd be the hardest thing we've ever done.'

'We know,' Yo-Yo said sympathetically, as she and Daniel loaded their weapons. 'They'll bang through the doors soon enough. Hopefully not before our friends do their part.'

Daniel walked over to stand beside her as they prepared and held out their guns, ready for the attack that was undoubtedly on its way. 'Don't worry too much about Mack,' he said.

Yo-Yo merely raised her eyebrows at him. 'Don't worry too much about Daisy,' she replied with a knowing smile.

Daniel smiled back and breathed deeply. They both knew that was easier said than done.

Despite how hard he tried, his thoughts went back to Daisy. He wondered what she was doing up there right now, how she was coping. He knew really that he had no reason to be worried. She was Quake – no, better still, she was _Daisy Johnson_. She could beat the enemy, he had no doubt about that. He thought of how he'd maybe make a nice cup of cocoa for her when she returned – if cocoa was still even a thing in the 21st century – and he could stay with her and hold her if she needed it and help treat any wounds she may have acquired. And then afterwards they could sit down and listen to music or watch one of those movies she had mentioned before. They could just sit together and relax and breathe. And talk. Once this was over, they would have hours and days in which they could just talk. The thought filled Daniel with a giddy sort of relief.

_She'll be fine. Of course she will. She'll be absolutely fine._

Jemma's eyes began to water as she watched Daniel and Yo-Yo now, at how their expressions were warm and tender just at the mere thought of Daisy and Mack. Even with the Hunter soldiers approaching them on this level with the aim to kill, neither Daniel or Yo-Yo looked overly concerned for their own safety; their minds were clearly only on their loved ones up there in space fighting for all their lives and the planet. Jemma inhaled sharply as she gazed at them; she could feel it all fitting into place in her mind now. It was making sense.

Jemma gasped shakily. 'They're your everything,' she realised in a daze, looking at them both breathlessly as the tears threatened to spill from her eyes. 'Stars in your skies.'

Daniel looked around at Jemma, alarmed by such a statement. He'd only known Daisy just over a week, but then again…he supposed Jemma had it completely right. Daisy _was_ his everything. Who would have ever seen that coming? Well, aside from perhaps Fitz and the time stream.

Jemma was smiling with trembling lips now, overwhelmed as their love, their faith, their devotion to Daisy and Mack began to trigger something deep within her…something long buried but desperate to get out…

'Fitz,' Jemma said tearfully, looking desperate and hopeful, and Fitz's eyes lit up as he gazed at her. 'I think I remember…why we did all this.'

She gasped again, the tears flooding down her cheeks now as the memories flooded through her mind in vivid waves, and her hand fell instinctively to her stomach.

'I think I remember what we're fighting for.'

Fitz went up to her at once and took her lovingly in his arms, looking delighted and overwhelmed with relief.

'Alya!' Jemma whispered, and she said the word like a prayer.

The couple hugged tearfully, and as they leaned apart Jemma cupped Fitz's face and kissed him firmly on the lips. Daniel had only known Fitz for a few hours and yet seeing the two of them together now, the way Jemma gazed at him, the way Fitz smiled breathlessly at her with such an overwhelming rush of emotion, he found he understood why Daisy rooted for the pair so much. It even made Daniel feel a little tearful himself, just to watch them.

'Wh-who's Alya?' Yo-Yo asked, but before either Jemma or Fitz could answer the alarms began to blare once more: the Chronicom Hunters had broken onto this level of the Lighthouse.

Cursing under his breath, Fitz rushed back to the control panel while Jemma picked up the nearest Chronicom gun, her face suddenly filled with determination.

'Are you okay?' Daniel asked her, concerned.

'I-I'm fine,' Jemma said, nodding at him reassuringly. 'But they're coming. I can hear them.'

Just as Fitz announced to them all that the parabolic antennae – whatever _that_ meant – were nearly in position, there came a violent banging at the control room doors. The Hunters were outside, pounding to get in.

They all raised their guns, breathing heavily.

'I hope this is gonna work, 'cause it won't take long for these guys to get through,' Daniel said warily.

And then all too soon the back and side doors to the control room had opened. Daniel felt his heart stop as the Chronicom Hunters all came marching through, their weapons aloft, and it hit him then that this was the end, they were finished…he'd been so worried about Daisy that he hadn't even given much thought to the possibility of their likely demise down here, and now here he was, about to be killed by a robot without telling Daisy he loved her… –

But at least he could go down fighting.

Daniel crouched before Jemma protectively, rising slowly to his feet with his gun held out, when suddenly he stopped as the beam of bright light hit them. They all winced, crouched down to the floor and scrunched their eyes tightly shut as the spark of energy flooded the glowing Lighthouse.

As the light faded almost as suddenly as it had come, Daniel hurried back up to his feet and raised his gun. The Chronicom Hunters had all frozen, their heads pointed upwards in the direction of the light…the energy beam from Kora.

There was a tense silence as Daniel, Yo-Yo, Jemma and Fitz all stepped towards them tentatively.

'Hey, there,' Yo-Yo said to them. 'You friends or enemies?'

Their leader looked up at her for a moment. 'Friends,' he replied eventually, in the same monotone voice that reminded Daniel fondly of Enoch. 'As we have always been.'

Daniel exhaled deeply in relief along with the others as the Chronicom Hunters all dropped their weapons.

He couldn't believe it. It had actually worked. Back up at the Chronicom ship, the rest of the team must have been able to gain access to Sybil's machine, as planned, and May had combined her abilities with Kora's to magnify a beacon of empathy and boost the signal to the Lighthouse, channelling it directly into the Chronicoms' hardware. The empathy signal had kicked in just in the nick of time. They were safe.

Daniel beamed at them all, pleased, but then his face fell slightly. Yes, most of the Chronicoms had been sent to Earth and these Hunters had stopped their assault…but the Chronicoms who were still in their ships above the surface hadn't been affected by May's empathy signal, because the machine hadn't been targeting them. They'd only won half the battle yet.

While Yo-Yo went to speak to the leader of the Hunters, Daniel walked over to Fitz and Jemma, who were smiling at each other in relief. Their smiles faded slightly, however, when they saw the fear and panic in Daniel's eyes.

'But…wait…th-these aren't all the Chronicoms, these can only be a handful of them. There are more still up there,' Daniel said, trying to keep his voice steady. 'If May's powers were only projected on this location then…what about the rest of the Hunters? What about Malick a-and Sybil and the rest of the fleet? How will they-?'

He cut short at the look on their faces.

Daniel felt his heart drop to his stomach. 'What's happening up there?' he asked, his voice low and quiet.

Fitz glanced warily at Jemma before looking back at Daniel and clearing his throat. 'Kora…wasn't just the key for projecting May's empathic powers onto the Chronicoms. She's the key for something else,' he said slowly. 'We thought it was Jiaying we needed for it, but we think there's a chance-'

'For what?' Daniel asked sharply.

Fitz hesitated; he looked nervous. 'There was always only ever one way to stop Malick and Sybil for good,' he said, 'and that was to destroy the Chronicom ships.'

Daniel stared at them both with a frown, confused. 'But h-how can we…?'

He trailed off as he looked at them both. Fitz's eyes were fixed on the floor, his fingers rubbing his hand agitatedly, as if he had a nervous tick. Jemma was averting her gaze from Daniel as well, her chin quivering, a single tear threatening to cascade down her cheek. Daniel's knees almost buckled as he realised what Fitz meant. He backed away from them unsteadily, horrified, and shook his head in desperation. He could barely register Yo-Yo and the army of Hunters all watching him. He felt as if he might collapse into a pool of his own vomit.

'No…n-no, not Daisy,' Daniel said, his voice tremoring as he continued to shake his head at Fitz and Jemma. 'Please, God, you…you can't be serious, th-there's no way she can do that without getting herself killed, it's a suicide mission-!'

'Not with Kora there!' Fitz interrupted him in earnest, his eyes pleading and hopeful. 'We saw it in the time stream-'

But he faltered slightly as Daniel flashed him a thundering glare. 'Wait, you _saw_ this and you let her go anyway to-?!'

'Just listen!' Fitz cut over him desperately. 'Jiaying could use her powers to bring Daisy back and Kora can do that too-'

'Bring Daisy back from _what_?!' Daniel demanded, enraged. 'If you're right and she's going to, what, _quake_ the ships apart, she…she'll be at the heart of the explosion-!'

'B-but she can use her powers to project the blast away from herself, like a…a protective force-field, sort of,' Fitz said, grimacing as Daniel stared at him incredulously, 'it's hard to explain-'

'Okay, but even _if_ she somehow survives that, then, what…she'll just be left there drifting out in space?! No human can survive that!' Daniel said loudly; he was frantic, and none of them could blame him.

'No,' Fitz replied heavily, and he exhaled shakily as the guilt threatened to overcome him. 'But an _In_ human might, and if Kora can revive-'

'You're depending on _Kora_?! Is that it?' Daniel said, and he was shouting now. 'That's your grand plan? Expect Daisy to sacrifice herself then rely solely on Malick's ex-sidekick to save her life?!'

Daniel wasn't an angry man by nature, not in the slightest, but his temper was truly being tested right now. He looked back and forth between Fitz, Jemma and Yo-Yo in outrage. He didn't know Fitz at all, but from everything the team had said about him and from the moment he'd arrived at the speakeasy in the other timeline, everyone trusted him without question, and so Daniel had been inclined to do the same. But right now it was hard, when the man he was supposed to trust, the man who was supposed to know everything, was saying these things. These unthinkable things. Yo-Yo was stood by the Hunter leader looking crestfallen; clearly, this was all news to her as well, and she didn't know how to process it. Jemma was gazing pitifully at Daniel, the tears falling now as she watched him helplessly with trembling lips, wishing that there was something she could do to help him. But there was no stopping the inevitable. There was no stopping what the time stream had shown them of the future.

Fitz bent his head low in shame, his eyes welling up. 'It's the only way.'

Feeling nauseous, Daniel turned his back on Fitz and stormed over to kick the control panel. He only just managed to resist the urge to pick up the nearest chair and smash it into the huge monitor on the wall. Jemma had seen a glimpse of Daniel's anger once before, on his first day with them after they'd pulled him out of 1955 and couldn't answer his questions about the time drive. But that had been nothing, nothing compared to what he was feeling right now. He looked like he wanted to yell out or break down in tears, or possibly both at the same time.

_No. It can't be true. She can't do this, she has to make it. She has to._

Daniel didn't realise how heavily he was breathing until he spoke. 'C-can we get in touch with them? Can I speak to her?' he asked quietly, pleadingly.

Fitz hesitated. 'I, uh…'

'We can try,' Jemma said at once, wiping away a stray tear. 'I-I'll see if I can reboot the tracking signal…Fitz, can you help me patch into-'

'Of course,' Fitz said, following her.

Jemma sat down and began typing away at once on the desktop to lock onto the Zephyr's systems, while Fitz hovered over her. Daniel waited anxiously, pacing up and down behind them. Perhaps there was still a chance. Perhaps there was still time for him to persuade Daisy to stop. They could find some other strategy. They could regroup and devise a better plan, one which didn't get anyone killed.

Jemma released a rather shaky breath. 'I…I'm sorry, Daniel, the others have just taken off, look,' she said in a small voice, pointing at the Zephyr's signal that had appeared on the screen, and Fitz walked away heavily with his eyes closed. 'The Zephyr's just leaving the Chronicom ship now…'

'The others?' Daniel said, his heart pounding fast. 'Not Daisy?'

They locked eyes. Daniel's face turned pale white as he took a step back from Jemma, the dizziness threatening to overcome him. No, of course, not Daisy. That hadn't been part of the plan.

He turned unsteadily to Fitz; he had closed his eyes and clasped his hand to his head in despair. It was too late. Everything was already set in motion.

Fitz swallowed as he looked up at Daniel, his expression torn. 'But th-there's still a chance that-'

But Daniel had already fled from the control room.

Yo-Yo called after him, but Daniel barely heard her. He wasn't sure what he was thinking as he ran up the corridor towards the hangar. Perhaps he thought that he could steal the Quinjet and know on instinct how to fly it, so that he could somehow fly it up to the Chronicom fleet and rescue Daisy in time. Perhaps he thought that if he simply looked up at the sky, shouted Daisy's name and prayed for her, then maybe any powers above that he didn't even believe existed would be able to save her. Perhaps he wasn't thinking at all.

As he rounded the corner and raced down the tunnel towards the hangar doors, he thought back to how Daisy had sounded over the comms during their last conversation, the way she had looked at him just before he'd left for the temple in the Quinjet, the way she had kissed him in the equipment room. He felt a lump rise in his throat as he ran on into the hangar, wiping his eyes hastily. Daisy's biggest superpower wasn't her Inhuman quaking abilities; it was her capacity to love. And Daniel knew that her love for the team meant that she would willingly give her life for every single one of them.

' _It's the only way,'_ Fitz had said.

But Daniel refused to believe it. He ran faster than he'd run in his entire life – which was something he might have noticed and even been proud of under different circumstances, given how long it had been since he'd lost his leg – and his hand slammed against the button on the wall to open the roof above the base.

He was almost at the Quinjet but then to his dismay Yo-Yo had reached him with her super-speed before he could press the button to open the aircraft doors.

'What are you doing?' she demanded breathlessly.

'I-I…I have to do something,' Daniel panted, looking at her in earnest. 'I can't just stand here and wait for her to-'

'It's too late. Sousa, I'm so sorry,' Yo-Yo said, her voice shaking as she held onto him, 'there's nothing we can do. It's done.'

Daniel began shaking his head rapidly. 'N-no…she can't…Daisy-'

'Hey. Look at me. Sousa, look at me!' Yo-Yo said desperately, her hands on both his shoulders, and Daniel forced himself to meet her fierce gaze. 'Fitzsimmons said there might still be a chance for her.'

The sound of the waterfall surrounding the hangar was loud and grating on his ears. It didn't make any sense. He couldn't process any of it. He could barely breathe.

' _How?_ ' he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Yo-Yo felt her face crumble; his heart was breaking, her friend was dying, and there was nothing she could do about it. 'I don't know. I honestly don't know. But we _have_ to believe it, okay?' she said, and she gripped his arms tightly and shook him. 'We have to have faith.'

Daniel saw the determined look in his eyes, and for a moment he felt a small slither of hope. But then he looked up at the empty cloudless sky, through the open roof of the base.

His knees gave way and he fell to the floor by Yo-Yo's feet in despair, almost paralysed with shock inside. Even from all the way down here, Daniel could make out the unmistakable sight of distant clouds of fire billowing out just above the atmosphere…originating from a huge explosion that he knew could only have been caused by the most powerful quake there had ever been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the distressing end to this chapter BUT we all know it will end well :D thanks for still reading! Next chapter should be finished and posted in a couple of days :)
> 
> For those asking, I'm planning on writing many more chapters covering the aftermath of what happened in this chapter and the one-year break (I wasn't originally going to do this, I was just going to skip straight to the epilogue one year later, but you've all been so lovely and enthusiastic, so it's encouraged me to keep going with this fic for a little longer!) Thank you all so much :)


	24. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is where I enter the daunting territory of non-canon material – I know I've been writing my own stuff as well in this fic, but that's been filling in the gaps between scenes and I've had the episodes' content to go on, so I'm quite nervous about this next bit now it's sort of left up to me (at least until the epilogue one year later)! Hope you all enjoy and thanks again for your enthusiasm and generous feedback :D Next chapter should be up in a couple of days!

When her eyes fluttered open, all she could focus on initially was how unbelievably cold she was, despite the blazing heat that she'd felt in her chest and lungs for a brief moment as she'd awoken. She couldn't move. She was frozen – quite literally. But then she looked up, and she could see Kora's face above hers. She could feel the heat projecting from Kora's glowing hand. Coulson and May were on either side of Kora, and they both released a shaky breath. May looked close to tears.

Daisy blinked a few times. She was dazed. Everything was a total blur. A dozen images were zooming through her mind, practically giving her whiplash…those silvery domes in that room on the Chronicom ship…Malick's bloodied, furious face right before she had cast her last, fatal quake…Daniel in his hazmat suit holding her in the equipment room, his eyes and smile tender and loving as he gazed at her…Fitz's delighted, tearful beam as he'd told her about Alya…the way Jemma had cried onto Daisy's shoulder as she'd hugged her goodbye outside the Quinjet…the look of regret and despair on Coulson and Mack's faces as they'd left her on the Chronicom ship with Malick to carry out her destiny…the furious balls of fire that had surrounded her as she'd released the vibrations from her hands, ripping the ship and its surrounding fleet to pieces…

_I shouldn't be here_ , Daisy thought to herself, both confused and worried.

'Thank you, Kora,' came the comforting voice of Mack.

Kora smiled tentatively at Daisy as she leaned away from her. Daisy realised then; Kora had saved her. She had used her powers to bring her back, just as Fitz had hoped – rather than predicted – she would.

Daisy was stunned. A mixture of emotions were running through her: pleasant surprise at being alive, relief that everything had evidently gone to plan (judging from everyone's expressions) and that Malick and the Chronicoms were truly gone for good, warmth for the newfound sister who had seen the error of her ways and helped them save the world, guilt at sacrificing herself knowing the pain it would have caused her team and Daniel if she had stayed dead –

_Daniel._

She hoped he was okay. He had to be okay.

Daisy glanced at Coulson, her father, her rock in all this. She managed to move her fingers slowly across the floor and found his; he took her hand and gripped it tightly.

'This is what we were fighting for,' he said.

Daisy's eyes fell once again to Kora, whose gaze was uncharacteristically warm as she looked back at her. 'Family,' Daisy whispered, her voice weak and drained, and yet somehow also happy.

Exhaling somewhat shakily, Coulson then bent down and gently pulled Daisy up into a sitting position; May leaned down to help him, and then the two wrapped Daisy in their arms, overcome with relief. Kora straightened up and stepped back respectfully to give the three of them a moment as they hugged.

'You incredible woman,' May murmured, awestruck, as she held Daisy tightly to her.

But Daisy winced. 'Ow.'

'Oh, sorry,' May said at once, leaning away and removing her hold of Daisy's arm.

The downside of emitting vibrations powerful enough to destroy an entire armada of Chronicom ships was the pain. Even the gauntlets hadn't been enough to prevent the bruises forming on Daisy's forearms this time. As Daisy reached down slowly to feel them, she noticed that her skin was extremely hard, and still freezing cold.

'I feel like a statue,' Daisy murmured, bemused.

'You were…out there for a while. Well, for about a minute,' Coulson said, grimacing slightly.

'Ah.'

May's face was contorted with guilt. 'We tried to find you as quickly as we could but-'

'There was a lot of debris…and fire and…'

'Guys,' Daisy interrupted Coulson exasperatedly, 'it's fine, I never expected-'

'We knew your Inhuman blood would…help your chances…' Coulson said, though Daisy could see that the guilt at leaving her behind was still weighing heavily on him.

'But still, your…your heart stopped,' May said, her voice empty.

'I mean, y-yeah, I'm not surprised,' Daisy said, giving them both a reassuring smile, and she looked up at Kora, who was hovering awkwardly nearby. 'Thanks for bringing me back, sis.'

Kora's lips parted slightly in surprise, but she quickly recovered her expression. 'It was the least I could do, after…after everything I…' She averted her gaze, looking ashamed.

If Daisy wasn't so exhausted and felt like she might collapse at any minute, she would have got up to her feet and put a comforting arm around her. 'It's okay,' she said gently.

'No, it's not,' Kora said, and May tilted her head at her sympathetically.

'Malick was controlling you-'

'I was the one that let him get inside my head,' Kora cut over her. 'I made those choices. I did what he asked.'

'Hey,' Daisy said, and with a struggle she reached up and grabbed Kora's hand. 'I forgive you.'

She knew it wouldn't mean much to Kora, but at least it was a start.

Before anyone could say anything else, however, Daisy then turned away and out of nowhere projective vomited onto the floor. Everyone leapt back in alarm with a yelp.

'Daisy!'

'I'm okay. I'm fine…just…must be an after-effect or something,' Daisy said breathlessly, wiping her mouth. 'I'm really sorry, guys.'

'But Daisy-'

'I'm fine,' Daisy said firmly, not wanting to make a fuss, as Kora rushed away to find something to clean up the splatter of vomit.

Coulson was frowning anxiously at her; her ice-cold skin still had a blue-ish purple tinge to it, and she looked as if she were about to faint. 'You lost a lot of oxygen out there. Your blood pressure will be-'

'I'm fine,' Daisy repeated, as Mack hurried over to her with a bottle of water; she took it and gulped it down gratefully, before turning back to Mack anxiously. 'The others…the Chronicoms in the Lighthouse, did it work? Did you stop them?'

'Yes, w-we think so,' Mack replied.

Daisy didn't like his tone. 'Did it work in time though?' she asked.

There was a pause. Mack and May glanced at each other unsurely.

'Are they okay down there?' Daisy's voice was urgent now and her heartrate was rising fearfully; Coulson put a hand on her shoulder to steady her as he sat with her.

'We've been trying to get in touch, but w-we can't get a signal,' May replied. 'I-I'm sure we'll get through to them soon though, once we're closer. We'll be re-entering the atmosphere soon.'

Daisy felt like she might throw up again.

She thought of Daniel, Jemma, Fitz and Yo-Yo down there, utterly powerless, as they waited for the empathic energy beam to be projected onto the Lighthouse while they were surrounded by Chronicoms. What if the beam had come too late? The Hunters would have killed them all in an instant.

Breathing unsteadily, Daisy tried to get to her feet. 'I need to-'

But she fell backwards at once as the dizziness and exhaustion overwhelmed her. Coulson put his arm around at her at once.

'Daisy!' he said worriedly. 'You need to lie back down.'

'But I-'

'Daisy, you – just – _died_ ,' May said sharply, her voice breaking on the last word. 'Please, just do as we say and rest.'

Daisy looked at them all, took in their stubborn expressions, and eventually nodded in resignation.

'We'll be back at the Lighthouse within the next twenty minutes or so,' Mack said. 'We'll let you know as soon as we make contact with them.'

While Mack and May headed to the cockpit to lock onto the Lighthouse, Coulson and Kora mopped away the vomit and then sat on the floor either side of Daisy, encouraging her to take deep breaths while she tried not to think of Daniel and the others.

_There's no point in worrying yet. We don't know for sure. They'll probably be fine._

She kept trying to tell herself this, over and over. And as she did this, she found herself unwillingly casting her mind back to mere minutes before, back on the Chronicom ship in that room with Malick. The memories came in brief, vivid flashes…Malick's sneering face, his snide remarks about snapping her mother's neck, the burning gleam in his eyes confirming that he had taken Kora's powers too, how she had flown over the domes and sent him soaring to the floor and yet it still hadn't been enough, just as she'd known deep down that it wouldn't be…nothing could stop him…

' _Up here, these ships are about to vaporize your friends down below.' … 'There is no way to kill me without killing yourself.'_

' _That's the idea.'_

It had been Daniel she'd thought of as she'd directed the quake around her in every possible direction, creating an almost protective shield around her using the same technique she'd used to deflect Kora's blasts earlier. Daisy had known that she would end up losing consciousness and floating in the vacuum of space…but she'd also had faith that her team would try to come back for her. And that faith had been well-rewarded.

Kora was mostly quiet as they sat on the floor, with Daisy's head resting on Coulson's shoulder, but used her powers to try and provide Daisy with more warmth; her temperature was still dangerously low. Daisy wasn't sure what would happen now with Kora once they got back home. But she did know that she forgave her. She felt like she could recognise Kora a little. She was just as lost as Skye had been. But Daisy could help her perhaps, if that was what Kora wanted. They were family, after all. Daisy could see that now.

Not long after they'd re-entered the surface of the planet, Mack and May returned to the others in the loading bay, having left the vessel on auto-pilot. Daisy tried to straighten up at once as she saw them, her face contorted with fear and dread.

But Mack was smiling. 'We just got in touch with the Lighthouse – everyone's alive, they're all okay,' he announced.

Coulson closed his eyes and exhaled in relief while Daisy let her tears spill out; she buried her face in Coulson's chest as he hugged her. 'Oh, thank God,' she sobbed, overwhelmed with emotion.

_He's alive. They're all alive. We'll see them soon. We're all okay. It's over. It's finally over._

'They've all been pretty worried about you, though, Daisy,' Mack said, looking at her warmly with raised eyebrows.

' _Especially_ Agent Sousa, from the sound of it,' May interjected, making Daisy's heart lurch.

'Poor guy,' Coulson said sympathetically as he rubbed Daisy's back.

For some inexplicable reason Daisy found herself laughing through her tears. It made no sense. Nothing about this was remotely funny. They'd all thought they were dead. Why was she laughing?

Wiping her eyes, Daisy leant off Coulson's chest. 'Fitzsimmons, have they-?'

'I told them to take the Quinjet straight away to get Alya. They're just setting off now,' Mack said, smiling. 'Don't worry, they left her with Piper and Flint, she's safe.'

'Good,' Daisy murmured breathlessly. 'I…I can't wait to meet her.'

Coulson smiled fondly as he squeezed her shoulder. 'I think that makes all of us,' he said, and Kora attempted a small smile as she looked at them, envious of this unshakeable bond they all seemed to have with each other.

While Mack headed back to keep an eye on things in the cockpit, the others remained with Daisy in the loading bay to keep a close eye on her. After the initial euphoria of finding out that the others had survived, what little colour she'd had had slowly begun to drain from her face.

'Daisy, you…you don't look so good. Or feel it, either,' May murmured, concerned, as she watched her sat on the floor.

'I'm just a little tired, that's all,' Daisy replied, her voice weak and feeble.

May and Coulson exchanged a dark look. Daisy had been drifting out in the vacuum of space for approximately seventy seconds. 'A little tired' didn't even begin to cover it.

Coulson pressed the palm of his hands against her forehead and hands. 'She's still ice cold,' he said, glancing anxiously at May.

'Simmons said when we spoke to her just now that you'd need to get into the healing chamber to raise your core body temperature and get you more oxygen,' May said. 'She's left instructions with Yo-Yo and Sousa, but…well we might as well get you in there now, come on-'

But Daisy refused to move as May tried to lift her up. 'No,' she said.

Coulson frowned. 'Daisy, you need-'

'Not yet. Please,' Daisy said firmly, her voice tremoring slightly as she looked at both Coulson and May earnestly. 'I need to see him first.'

Coulson glanced up at May. May gazed at Daisy for a moment, then nodded at Coulson. She knew how Daisy was feeling, how Daisy might burst from her desperation to reunite with Daniel. There was no way she was going in that healing chamber now.

Kora looked between May and Daisy, brimming with curiosity.

' _They've been pretty worried about you…' … 'Especially Agent Sousa…' … 'Poor guy…' … 'I need to see him first.'_

Kora couldn't help smiling to herself as she realised that Sybil and Nathaniel had never really had a chance winning against these people. Sybil hadn't understood half of human nature. She hadn't been able to read the notorious time stream properly at all. Kora had known from Nathaniel that Daisy had grown close to Agent Sousa since he had held them captive in 1976 but falling in love? He and Sybil hadn't seen that coming in any of the predictions or visions the time stream had offered.

It was the thought of Daniel that kept Daisy from giving in to her exhaustion and collapsing there and then on the floor. Once they had landed at the Lighthouse, she tried getting up to her feet at once, though it was a huge struggle.

'Daisy,' Coulson protested, 'you're too weak, you can barely stand-'

'So help me.'

The urgency with which Daisy said it shook Coulson. She never asked for help. He looked into her eyes, saw the desperation in them, and nodded. He hoisted her upright and put his arm around her waist so that she could lean on him. May went to Daisy's other side at once and put her arm around her as well. Kora hung back, realising that she wasn't needed, and her face fell slightly as she watched the three of them.

'I still don't think we should leave Z1,' Coulson said anxiously as he and May helped Daisy move forwards, 'you really need to get in the healing chamber-'

'And I will, I promise, for as long as I need, but-'

'Sousa first, fine, I understand,' Coulson said, nodding, as Mack joined them to open the Zephyr doors.

Remembering then that he was stronger now than he appeared, Coulson lifted Daisy up in his arms and began to carry her down the ramp. May watched them anxiously, and then her eyes fell on Kora; she touched her arm, and Kora smiled tentatively at her as they followed them out together.

When they all emerged onto the hangar only to find it empty, Daisy's face fell slightly. 'Where is he?' she asked in a panic while Coulson carried her. 'I need to see him, is he okay, did the Hunters hurt him-?'

'Sousa's there, I think they're just on their way up now,' May said, but then she came to a stop and clasped a hand to her head, as if overwhelmed.

'May, are you okay?' Coulson asked in concern; she looked like she was about to collapse.

'I'm fine, I can…I can feel him, that's all,' May said, her voice tremoring slightly. 'He's in a bit of a state.'

That was an understatement; Daniel was absolutely out of his mind with worry. On the other side of the hangar doors, he was leading the way at a run down the corridor, needing to see Daisy alive for his own eyes. He knew that Yo-Yo could have sped ahead to see Mack but she was sticking alongside Daniel for support as they hurried towards the hangar, and for that he was immensely grateful.

He'd turned into an empty shell in the immediate aftermath of the Chronicom fleet explosion. He'd been in such a state of shock and despair and denial that he almost forgot how to breathe. Luckily, Jemma and Fitz had managed to calm him down and break him out of his panic by telling him and Yo-Yo about Alya's existence. And then they'd heard interference from the comms, which Jemma had answered at once. Daniel knew he would always remember vividly her tearful smile as she'd handed the walkie-talkie over to Yo-Yo so that she could tell him the news.

'Agent Sousa. Daisy's alive,' she'd said, and Daniel had backed unsteadily into the control panel, gasping unevenly as his face crumpled in delight. ' _She's alive!_ '

And yet still Daniel couldn't believe it. At least he couldn't until just now, when he rounded the corner just in time to see the hangar doors slide open and he caught sight of Coulson carrying Daisy through.

At the sight of Daniel, Daisy scrambled out of Coulson's arms, jumped to her feet and somehow found the strength in her to run down the corridor. Everyone else stopped and watched as Daniel and Daisy ran at each other and wordlessly flung themselves into each other's arms. Daisy's knees gave way the moment she reached him and they both fell to the floor, but it didn't matter. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

'Oh, thank God, thank God,' Daniel kept murmuring, as he held her tightly and buried his face in her hair.

Tears of relief running down her face, Daisy clung onto him, as if almost afraid that if she let go, he would disappear.

They'd done it. The war was over. They were safe. And they were together again. It was hard for Daisy to wrap her head around; it seemed too good to be true.

'Are you okay?' she asked in a weak voice as they leaned away.

Daniel laughed weakly. 'Y-yeah, I am now, are you?' he asked, looking over her worriedly as he cupped her cheeks in his hands; she was freezing, and her skin was ghostly pale, with a few extra bruises and bloody cuts.

Daisy nodded tearfully, planting kisses on his cheeks and forehead as she held onto him tightly.

'I can't believe you're here, I-I thought you were dead,' Daniel murmured, his voice shaking as he gazed at her, drinking in the miraculous sight.

'I'm here,' Daisy whispered, pulling him back into her arms. 'I'm so sorry.'

As the two embraced, Coulson glanced at May stood beside him and saw a tear escape down her eye as the emotions overwhelmed her. He reached for her hand and tentatively took it. To his pleasant surprise, May didn't recoil and intertwined her fingers with his, squeezing his hand tightly as they watched their beloved Daisy.

'You're ice cold,' Daniel noted, his brow creased in concern, as he and Daisy leaned away to look at each other.

'I'm okay,' Daisy replied airily.

May cleared her throat. 'She needs to go in the healing chamber _now_ ,' she said pointedly, 'but…she said she had to see you.'

Her face softened as her gaze met Daniel's; smiling at her, Daniel then turned back to Daisy. He tilted his head at her and then leaned in to kiss her, but Daisy flinched away instantly.

'I wouldn't, uh, I was sick five minutes ago,' she explained apologetically.

Daniel pulled an awkward face. 'Ah.'

He heard Mack chuckle; Daniel looked up to see that he was stood there nearby with his arm around Yo-Yo. The two men exchanged a warm smile, glad that the other was all right. Then Daniel's eyes fell to Kora, and his expression turned automatically wary.

Kora felt a little dazed as she looked back at him and Daisy knelt on the floor together, her hands on his shoulders, his around her waist. Kora had thought that she'd cared for Nathaniel, but she knew now just how wrong she'd been. What she'd felt for Nathaniel had clearly been nothing, _nothing_ , compared to what she could see before her right now.

Daisy felt her heart lurch nervously as she noticed Daniel looking at Kora. 'It's okay, she's on our side,' she told him reassuringly. 'Sh-she saved my life. Well…brought me back to life, technically, I guess.'

Daniel tried not to appear too horrified by such a sentence, and, swallowing, he turned back to look up at Kora. 'Well you are my new favourite person,' he said to her, and Kora smiled nervously back at him.

Trying to hide his anguish, Daniel turned back to Daisy, who looked relieved by his response.

' _Brought me back to life_ ', she'd said. _'_ Back _to life.'_

Now he'd recovered from the initial shock and joy of seeing her, he could look at her properly now. He could see the purple tinge to her pale skin. He could see how drained she looked, as if she might collapse any moment. He could see how ill she was, from whatever had happened up there during that explosion.

'Can you stand?' he asked her.

'Uh…sort of,' Daisy replied, grimacing, which he knew meant 'no'. 'Uh…did Fitzsimmons get off okay?'

'They did,' Yo-Yo replied, smiling. 'They should be there very soon.'

Daisy nodded slowly, relieved. She turned back to Daniel; he was gazing at her in wonder.

'You blew up…the whole fleet of Chronicom spaceships with your powers?' he said dazedly.

'Uh…w-well I…yes?' The way she spoke made it sound like a question.

'And Malick?'

Daisy smiled. 'He's gone.'

Daniel simply looked at her for a moment, then shook his head in disbelief. 'You're amazing. Quake,' he added, his lips twitching.

Daisy stared at him, before laughing weakly and hugging him again, nuzzling her head into his shoulder. Daniel smiled and closed his eyes as he held her gently. He didn't want to ask how she had possibly survived such a thing, or what it had cost her to do it, not right now. In this moment, she just deserved endless praise. She had saved them all.

Mack then cleared his throat, having just checked his cell phone. 'I've got a message from Piper – Fitzsimmons have just reached them. They'll be back here in a few hours,' he said, and they all exchanged relieved smiles. 'Now everyone, the mission is done. No more damn robots or Nathaniel Malick. We'll debrief later, but…well, for now, I think our top priority is for us all to get some rest. That's an order from your Director.'

'No arguments from me,' Yo-Yo said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, as Mack then pointedly turned to look at Daisy, the lines on his forehead prominent as he watched her in concern.

Daisy looked around warily; all their eyes were on her. She knew they were all thinking the same thing. She turned tentatively back to Daniel, glad for his hands still around her waist – if he'd let go, she feared she might have fallen by now.

'You know where you need to go,' Daniel murmured, looking almost apologetic, and Daisy began to shake her head.

'Nope.'

'Yes,' he said. 'I don't mean to be a wet rag but-'

'Huh?'

Daniel tilted his head at her. 'You _know_ you need to get in there.'

Daisy gazed back at him for a moment, then nodded heavily. 'I know. I know,' she murmured in resignation.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go in the healing chamber because of her fear of another round of time loops starting, or any other haunting memories associated with the chamber. She just didn't want to go in there because it meant losing out on what limited time they had left together as a group, before people started going their separate ways. This time they had was precious. She wanted to make the most of it. And yet she also wanted to get better so that she could actually enjoy this time with the people she loved most.

Sighing in defeat, Daisy began to struggle up to her feet; Daniel helped her at once, his arm around her waist as he supported her weight.

Yo-Yo stepped forward with a piece of paper. 'I've got Simmons' instructions on what to do with the chamber-'

'I'll take them,' Daniel offered, and Yo-Yo passed him the piece of paper with a surprised, sceptical look on her face, and he smiled. 'It's all right, I'm kind of an expert on this healing chamber business now.'

Coulson and May exchanged a glance. 'We'll come as well,' Coulson said hastily, as she and May stepped over to help with Daisy. 'Just to make sure she's all right.'

'You saying you don't trust me with this?' Daniel said to him, amused, as he indicated the instructions in his hand.

'Sousa, you still freak out about the automatic doors,' Coulson pointed out, 'we just think it's better off being a three-person job.'

'Make that four,' Kora interjected, approaching them; she averted her gaze awkwardly as they all turned to look at her in surprise. 'Might as well make myself useful.'

While Mack and Yo-Yo retreated to the lower levels to get some much-needed rest, the others helped guide Daisy back onto the Zephyr and into the equipment room.

Daisy let out a big sigh as her eyes fell on the healing chamber. _Hello, old friend._

It seemed so long ago since they had first dragged the chamber into this very room for her to recover in the peace and quiet, and how Daniel had stuck beside her and wordlessly sealed her in the chamber with a tap of his new prosthetic leg, watching over her as she slept, before the time storm had hit them. So much had changed since then. Everything felt different. Daisy felt different.

Daniel helped Daisy onto the steel chair now and kept his hand on her shoulder while reading out Jemma's instructions to Coulson, who typed in the correct settings into the chamber's pad and the attached monitor. May took a quick sample of Daisy's blood with the prick of a needle, and they were able to acquire readings from Jemma's advanced medical technology rather quickly: Daisy had incredibly low blood pressure and she was oxygen-deprived. On top of that, a few parts of her skin that had been exposed to the vacuum of space had swollen – though, luckily, her Quake suit had protected most of it – and she had painful blotchy bruises on her wrists and forearms from when she had quaked the Chronicom fleet apart. Simmons had predicted all this in her instructions and so Coulson, May and Daniel put together the appropriate medication and administered it to the tubes and compartments in the healing chamber.

Once they had finished with that, May asked Daisy if she wanted to help her get changed into different clothes, but that just seemed like too much effort, apart from simply removing her utility belt. Daisy was too exhausted to be bothered with the rest – well, with anything, really. The sight of the healing chamber now looked almost appealing.

'A good day or two in this, and you should be fine, according to Simmons,' Coulson said once they had checked that Daisy was okay, and he patted the chamber lid. 'We'd, uh, we'd better head back into the base. There's an army of Hunters hanging out there…we kinda need to work out what to do with them.'

'Go,' Daisy said, nodding. 'I'm fine.'

Coulson smiled sadly at her and gave her one last hug. He cupped her cheek briefly, a fatherly look in his eyes, before turning and leaving the equipment room. Panic began to rise in her chest as she watched him go. Her entire body was in agony, but her heart hurt even more from the loss that she knew would soon be coming. They had managed to save the world…but in doing so they had completed their final ever mission as a team. Enoch, Fitz, the time stream all confirmed it.

Daisy could feel tears threatening to leak out, but she somehow managed to keep a reassuring smile frozen on her face as she looked up at May. She knew she wasn't fooling her – May had been able to read Daisy's emotions well enough even before this new empathic ability – but from the look in her eyes, May seemed to understand that Daisy wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. She needed time to recover physically first. They both nodded at each other wordlessly, and May then went over to tap Kora gently on the arm.

'Kora? She'll be okay. Do you want to come with me?' she offered. 'I can show you around, talk you over few a few things…'

Stunned, Kora glanced over at Daisy, as if for permission; Daisy smiled at her encouragingly. 'I'm surprised you wanna keep me company after everything I've done,' Kora said glumly, turning back to May.

May raised her eyebrows. 'You saved Daisy's life. I think that's a good reason for us to start over, don't you?'

Kora hesitated then began to nod slowly, a half-smile beginning to form on her lips. Then May guided her out of the room to exit the Zephyr, leaving Daisy and Daniel alone. Daisy gazed up at Daniel.

'Can you stay with me?' she asked him quietly.

Daniel tilted his head at her, a soft smile on his face. 'Did you really think you had to ask?'

He slowly helped her up from the steel chair and tapped the button to open the case of the healing chamber. Daisy sat down on the edge of the chamber and was just about to lie down when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that a tear was trickling down Daniel's cheek as he dragged the chair over to be nearer to her. Daniel hastily wiped the tear away, but it was too late, she had already seen.

Daisy's face fell in dismay. 'Daniel?'

He said nothing as he sat down on the chair, which he had positioned right beside the top end of the chamber. He just shook his head and looked down at his lap, smiling as if trying to brush it off, as if it was silly, as if it didn't matter.

'Daniel, what is it? Tell me, please,' Daisy said softly, and she reached out and took his hands in her own. 'What's wrong?'

Daniel merely chuckled softly to himself, though without humour. 'What's wrong? You…you died, Daisy.'

There was a sad sort of emptiness with which he said the words, a pain too deep for him to fully express, and it shook Daisy into silence. She couldn't deny it or say he was being melodramatic. It was the truth. She _had_ died, even if only for a brief minute. Daisy parted her lips as if to try and say something, but she couldn't find the words. All she could do was swallow and try not to cry and brush his fingers gently with her own, to reassure him with a touch that she was here, that she was alive, and that she wasn't going anywhere.

'Did you know?' Daniel asked quietly, though he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. 'When we last saw each other, wh-when we were saying bye on the Zephyr. Did you know what you were going to do, what…what might happen?'

Daisy closed her eyes. There was no point in lying. 'More or less,' she replied.

There was a silence. A long silence. An unbearable silence. It went on and on. Daniel kept his head bowed as he tried to come to terms with the answer she'd given, the answer he'd already known deep down. He wanted to look at her, but he didn't want her to see the anguish in his eyes, the pain he knew he couldn't conceal any longer, so instead he just focussed on gazing at their hands joined together on his lap. If he could just focus on their hands, the feel of her ice-cold skin, the gentle brush of her fingers against his, then perhaps he could then find the right words.

Daisy felt a tear fall down her cheek as she gazed at him; he looked broken. 'Daniel, I-I'm so sorry. I know you're mad at me, but please just…just say something,' she said, squeezing his hands tightly as she leaned forwards. 'Anything. Yell at me if it helps, I deserve it-'

'I'm not mad at you,' Daniel said sincerely, and it was a relief just to hear him speak again, just to see him force his head up to look at her and reassure her with his gaze. 'How could I be? You're…you're amazing. What you did was…the bravest, most selfless thing anyone has ever done. I just…'

'Go on. Please,' Daisy said gently. 'Talk to me.'

Daniel swallowed. 'Wh-why did you do it?' he asked, as if afraid of the answer. 'Did you…did you _want_ to…?' He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Daisy exhaled shakily as she realised just what had distressed him so much about it. 'No. I wasn't suicidal or anything, if that's what…' she said, and she sighed deeply. 'I know what it feels like, to want to die. A few years ago, I…well, I was in a bad way. And I wanted it to end. But I didn't feel that today. In fact, I…well, I've never felt more strongly about just how much I wanted to live than I did today.'

Another silence fell. Daniel was nodding slowly, relieved; he could tell that her words were sincere.

'I did what I did because I knew there was no other way. Because of all you guys. And…because of Alya,' Daisy went on. 'Me and Fitzsimmons have been with each other from the very beginning. And they had a _kid_. An actual _kid_ , Daniel. They just wanted to keep her safe. That's why they did all this, that's why we all…' She trailed off helplessly. 'It was the only way.'

Daniel nodded slowly. 'I understand.'

'You'd have done the same,' Daisy pointed out with raised eyebrows.

Daniel gave her a small smile; he couldn't argue with that. 'I just…I still don't really understand how you're…how you're _here_. How you survived,' he said, a little dazed.

'Me neither, really,' Daisy admitted, exhaling.

'You just…blew up the ships and then…drifted through space?'

'Uh…yeah, pretty much. I could protect myself from my own powers when I quaked the ships, and err…well, I remember Fitz saying once that you can technically survive up to around ninety seconds in space apparently. Also…I think you're forgetting that I'm not…100% human,' Daisy said, her lips twitching. 'Kree DNA, remember? Must have helped me a bit.'

Daniel looked at her. Of course, if anyone was able to survive an explosion and being frozen out in space, it would be an Inhuman superhero with alien blood and immense superpowers.

'Right. Of course,' Daniel said, brushing her knuckle with his thumb as he nodded and frowned to himself, thinking it all over.

'I'm sorry for putting you through that,' Daisy murmured.

But Daniel shook his head at once as he looked at her. 'Oh God, no, please…don't be. I'm sorry for…I just…I'm not normally so much of a worrier, I don't want you to think I'm…I just…'

But Daisy interrupted him by leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. 'Hey. It's okay. Believe it or not, I don't want you to apologise for caring about me,' she said softly, and they both smiled at each other. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah,' Daniel said after a while, and as he spoke the word he knew it was true. 'I'm…I'm happy you're here, and that you're gonna…be okay, once you've been in this damn thing.'

'I'm happy about that too.'

Daniel gazed at her and shook his head, mesmerized. 'You saved us all, Daisy. The whole damn world,' he said in wonder. 'We won.'

Daisy smiled, allowing herself to be proud for once. 'We did, didn't we?'

Daniel held their intertwined hands up to his face and kissed the top of her hand. 'Shall I…close the lid now?'

They both knew that he should, and yet neither of them wanted him to.

'Just another minute,' Daisy said quietly; she wanted to memorise this feeling of his hand in hers, of how normal it felt, of how perfectly they fit together.

Daniel sighed sympathetically. 'If I could go in there with you, I would.'

There was a pause as Daisy glanced to the side at the chamber, a slight smirk on her face. 'I mean…I guess there _is_ room, if you went on top-'

Daniel's eyes nearly burst out of their sockets. ' _Woah_. Daisy Johnson,' he said with a laugh, pretending to be appalled, 'wh-what-?'

'Chill out, I'm just kidding,' Daisy said, laughing.

Daniel smiled warmly, and he wasn't even bothered that she could see just how much he was blushing; it was so good to see her laugh, even in her weakened state, even after everything she had been through this long, gruelling day. 'Simmons said it'll pump a sedative once you're in there, so you'll fall asleep straight away,' he said gently.

Daisy nodded, though her smile faded. 'I…I don't want to,' she said, and her voice shook slightly, as if she might start crying at any minute.

Daniel knew at once why she was worried. 'No one's going anywhere anytime soon,' he reassured her, squeezing her hands. 'Everyone's still gonna be here in the Lighthouse when you wake up. For a while, I'm guessing. No one's even thinking about 'after' or anything. And I'll be right here the whole time.'

'You need to sleep too,' Daisy said, raising her eyebrows at him. 'And not on that damn chair again, your bunk's comfier than that.'

'Don't waste your breath, Daisy, we both know I'm not leaving this room,' Daniel said, smiling.

'What if you need the bathroom?' Daisy challenged, raising an eyebrow playfully at him.

Daniel rolled his eyes as he grinned back at her. 'Okay…well, if I need the bathroom, I'll leave for two minutes at the very most – only 'cause it wouldn't be nice for you to wake up to if I didn't – and then I'll be right back.'

Daisy chuckled, and her face softened as she gazed at him in wonder. 'Are you real?'

'Huh?'

'Are you sure you're not…I don't know, some…figment of my imagination, or something I've been hallucinating since my nap out in space?' she asked, tilting her head at him.

Daniel smiled lovingly at her. 'I'm pretty sure I'm real.'

Daisy nodded at him slowly. 'Well thank God for that,' she said with a smile.

She lay back in the healing chamber shortly after that, and Daniel pulled his chair closer so that his head was right beside hers. He tapped the button and the case lowered with a hiss; he kissed his fingertips and pressed them to the case as it sealed her in. Daisy smiled gratefully at him before her eyes began drooping, the sedative already working its magic, and she soon fell asleep. Daniel folded his arms and watched the scanning lights as they whirred above Daisy's sleeping figure, and he smiled to himself.

They had come so far since the two of them had first been in this room, her in the healing chamber and him in this chair. That had been the day he'd started falling in love with her. He wondered if the fall would ever stop. Looking at Daisy now, sleeping there with a hint of a smile still on her face from when she'd last looked at him, he smiled warmly as he realised that the answer was…probably not.


	25. What Happens Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Kora was the first thing Daisy saw when she woke up. She was sat on a chair at the other end of the room just within Daisy's eyesight. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest as if she was trying to close herself off from the outside world. Daisy wondered when she'd come back to the Zephyr, how long she'd been sat there, why she'd even felt the need to come to this room in the first place.

'Hey,' Kora greeted.

Daisy frowned as she pressed the button inside the chamber. 'Hey,' she said, sitting up as the lid slowly slid open with a low hiss.

'How are you feeling?'

'Uh…better,' Daisy realised; her body was no longer violently aching, and she didn't feel like she was about to collapse, which was a huge improvement.

Daisy turned around. Daniel was still sat on the chair right next to her, his head level with where hers had been. He was sleeping, his head lolling uncomfortably on his shoulder. A fond smile fell on her face.

Kora shook her head exasperatedly. 'He's been here the whole time. Kept refusing to leave. I said I'd take over for a bit so he could get some sleep,' she said, and she looked over at Daisy curiously. 'Who…who is he to you?'

'Oh, he…' Daisy paused, not knowing what to say; she and Daniel hadn't really had that discussion. 'I…I don't really know yet. Not exactly.'

Kora raised her eyebrows, as if she sincerely doubted it. 'But he's someone special.'

'Yeah,' Daisy replied, without a hint of embarrassment, and she smiled as she straightened up in the chamber. 'He's…he's very special.'

Kora nodded thoughtfully. 'You're lucky,' she said in a small voice.

Daisy smiled. Yes, she was.

Thinking about it now, she couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when it had all started with Daniel. The feelings hadn't suddenly hit her…it was as if they had crept on her slowly, until suddenly the time storm hit them and she was in the middle before she even knew she had begun. Looking back, she knew that she had slowly begun to fall in love with Daniel over the course of those time loops, and yet he remembered none of it. But they could make new memories together. They had already started to. It was still rather strange for Daisy to wrap her head around, how quickly this had happened between them, how deeply she felt, how intense this whole experience had been in the space of less than two weeks. Daniel hadn't been around for all this time, all these years with S.H.I.E.L.D., and she had been fine and content in her life without him…yet now he was here and Daisy knew there was no going back. She didn't want to go back.

Daisy blinked rapidly as she tried to pull herself out of her daydream; she tore her gaze away from Daniel's sleeping figure sat beside her and turned back to Kora. 'H-how long have I been…?'

'Almost two days,' Kora replied.

Daisy's lips parted in surprise. 'Huh. That long?'

'You needed it.'

Just then Daniel began to stir awake at the sound of their voices. 'Hey,' he said to Daisy, his face lighting up at once as he saw her sat up. 'You're awake.'

'I'm okay, you should go back to sleep,' Daisy said, reaching over to stroke his shoulder, but he raised his eyebrows sceptically at her; clearly, that wasn't going to happen.

Kora rose to her feet. 'I'll…go get some food,' she offered. 'You must be hungry.'

'Starving,' Daisy realised.

'The kitchen's just that way,' Daniel said, pointing the direction to her.

'Thanks.'

As Kora left the equipment room, Daisy swung her legs out over the chamber and slowly got down to her feet.

'Ooh, careful,' Daniel said, reaching a hand out as she stumbled slightly.

'I'm okay, just need to…stretch my legs. How's she been?' Daisy asked.

'Kora? Fine. Quiet, but…I think she's still just…processing,' Daniel replied.

Daisy nodded thoughtfully as she leant against the side of the chamber. 'And the others?'

'Everyone's good, they're all in the Lighthouse. Fitz and Simmons came back yesterday, Simmons took a look at your readings last night and she says you won't need to go back in the chamber from today. You're healing well,' Daniel said, smiling encouragingly. 'But you still need a lot of bedrest, doctors' orders.'

Daisy was pleased; it was such a relief to know that Jemma was back. 'And Alya?' she asked hopefully.

Daniel smiled. 'She's here.'

'H-how is she, what's she like?'

'I'm not saying anything,' Daniel said with a smirk, enjoying her enthusiasm. 'We can head down there in a bit to see her, once you've eaten?'

'Yeah, and then I'll, like, _really_ need to take a shower,' Daisy added with a grimace.

Daniel chuckled. 'Okay.'

He was pleased to see just how well she looked compared to the other day. Her skin had returned to its usual tone, the swelling and bruises had gone down, and her eyes and face looked truly awake. Even the minimal movements she had made so far with her body showed a vast improvement. He frowned then as his eyes ran over her tight-fitting Quake suit.

'Huh, we never got changed,' he noted.

'Well how could we? Most of our belongings got blown up in the Lighthouse in the other timeline.'

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if it was a perfectly normal sentence to use in everyday conversation. But of course, Daniel had to remind himself, this sort of thing _was_ normal for this team.

'Good point. You should get out of that suit though. Doesn't exactly look comfortable,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her.

'No…I guess it's not,' Daisy admitted. 'I'll go find some other clothes in a bit, there should be some still here in the closet.'

'Do you think that's it?' Daniel asked, swallowing slightly. 'For…well, us all being here on the Zephyr, I mean.'

'Uh…probably,' Daisy replied.

Daniel watched her carefully; even _he_ felt sad at that prospect, and he'd only joined them all onboard this place the other week. 'Are you okay?'

'Actually, I, uh…I'm pretty great,' Daisy said, frowning as she realised that she wasn't lying.

'Well, you look good,' Daniel said. 'Considering you kind of died the other day.'

'Thanks.'

He smiled at her. 'I'm really glad you're not dead.'

'I'm really glad you're not dead too,' Daisy said, smiling back.

'That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me,' Daniel said, and he got up from his chair and closed the distance between them, stood tantalisingly close to her as she rested against the side of the chamber.

'I'm also glad you didn't stay behind in 1983 in the other timeline,' Daisy said, her face close to his. ''Cause if you'd gone ahead and done that like the stupid selfless hero you are, I'd have quaked you, _really_ badly.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows as he nodded at her, smirking. 'I'd like to have seen that,' he said slyly. 'Though…you're a bit of a hypocrite to call _me_ the 'stupid selfless hero'.'

Daisy chuckled. Daniel put his hands on her waist and she rested her hands on his shoulders, and it was the most natural thing in the world.

'Daisy. I'm not going anywhere,' Daniel said softly, smiling, but then he frowned. 'That…didn't mean to sound as ominous as it did.'

Daisy laughed softly. 'You're right, by the way, I could do with getting out of this thing,' she said, indicating her tight suit.

Daniel nodded at once, unaware of how her eyes had fallen to her lips. 'I'm on it. I'll go have a look in the closet,' he said, removing his hands and leaning away from her; Daisy's face fell ever so slightly, both disappointed and amused. 'I might freshen up as well. You stay here, Kora will be back with food any minute.'

Daisy shook her head wearily. 'Seems strange…the sister who never existed before…bringing me food,' she murmured, dazed. 'A few days ago I would have suspected her of poisoning whatever food she'd bring me.'

'It's…it's all a bit surreal, isn't it?' Daniel said, smiling reassuringly at her, and he headed towards the door. 'Anyway…I'll be back soon.'

Daisy barely had time to do anything more than smile fondly at the doorway that he'd disappeared through when Kora then returned, but it wasn't just food she had brought – Coulson, May and Mack had come up to the Zephyr from the base to check on how she was doing.

Once Daisy had reassured them firmly that she was feeling much better, they caught up on news of what she had missed while she had been recovering in the healing chamber. Coulson had been dealing with the large number of Chronicom Hunters in the base, which had left him indisposed for a while. May had assisted him with this task, as well as looking after Kora. Since their return to the Lighthouse, Fitz and Simmons had been taking turns splitting their time between the base taking care of little Alya and the L.M.D. lab on the Zephyr. As a reward for guarding Alya and protecting her while they had been away, Jemma had promised Piper anything, literally _anything_ , she wanted. It turned out that all she'd wanted was her best friend back. So, Agent Davis' L.M.D. was currently in the process of being built now in the lab, which Daisy was pleasantly stunned to hear.

Mack and Yo-Yo had spent most of this time with Flint; they had practically adopted him back in 2091, and so they were overwhelmingly glad to have him here with them all. It seemed that they had already begun talking about the future – Flint had expressed an interest in becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and Piper was already eager to take on new assignments out in the field once her L.M.D. partner was ready. Mack and May seemed keen to explore these ventures. There was something rather poignant about it all as Daisy watched them discuss about the possibilities for new recruits and trainees nowadays, and how the agency could move forward. They had triumphed, they had defeated Malick and Sybil, they had won the war. And yet it felt somehow, at least to Daisy, that they would soon be losing each other.

May seemed to sense that Daisy was feeling a little overwhelmed; she soon ushered the others out of the room, saying they should give Daisy some peace and quiet while she ate. Once the three of them had left, Daisy tucked into the food Kora had brought her – it was a bowl of the soup Daniel had recommended – only to find that her taste buds barely registered it. She wondered if perhaps that was an after-effect from her time drifting out in space. Before she could ponder on this aloud, however, Kora began to speak.

'Where's Agent Sousa?'

'He's gone to freshen up and get me a change of clothes,' Daisy replied, forcing herself to eat more of the tasteless soup.

Kora nodded, looking deep in thought. 'It's funny…Sybil never really saw it, with you two. She told me and Nathaniel pretty much everything she could see in the time stream about this team but I guess…when it comes to, y'know, _feelings_ , she never thought it was important…or maybe she just didn't see it because she didn't understand it…' She trailed off, her face falling slightly; she looked dismayed. 'I can't believe I…I followed her. And that I…believed everything Nathaniel said…about ruling and…'

Seeing how ashamed she looked, Daisy put down her bowl of soup and dragged Daniel's chair over so that she could sit down opposite her. 'I know it's hard, coming to terms with…bad acts you've done. Believe me, I've been there. But it'll get easier with time,' she said, and she reached out and took Kora's hand. 'You'll come to terms with it, you'll make peace with yourself, you'll…move on and try to do good to make up for the past. And I wanna help you with that. The best thing is to just take it one day at a time.'

Kora looked up at Daisy, a little dazed, then gave a shaky nod. 'Is there still an Afterlife here, in this timeline?' she asked curiously, as Daisy let go of her hand.

'Uh…it's complicated,' Daisy said sadly. 'I'll tell you all about it soon, I promise, but…'

'You can't face it right now, I get it. Agent May told me that…that Jiaying isn't alive, in this timeline. That things went bad,' Kora said, watching her sister carefully. 'She wasn't the best mother, was she?'

'No,' Daisy replied eventually. 'But she tried her best. She did what she thought was right – for both of us. Her heart was in the right place…at first, at least.'

'Before HYDRA. Yeah, May told me about that as well,' Kora said, in answer to Daisy's questioning look. 'May's been…really nice to me. She's looked after me a lot since we got here.'

'Huh. That's nice to hear.'

Daisy meant it. May had this surprising maternal instinct that Daisy had only really seen come out with herself or Jemma. But of course it made sense that May would want to help Kora; she would have been able to sense Kora's fear, her loneliness, her guilt, how lost she was. She looked back up at Kora, feeling somewhat sad, and noticed the dark circles that looked almost like bruises under her eyes.

'You look tired. You should go get some sleep,' Daisy said softy.

Kora looked torn. 'Are you…sure you're okay?'

'Yeah, I'm good. Honestly, go,' Daisy encouraged, and Kora slowly got up to her feet. 'Kora. Thank you.'

Kora gave Daisy a tentative smile and nod before leaving the equipment room. She had only been gone about a minute when Daniel returned. He had showered and changed into a tight-fitting white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and was carrying a change of clothes for Daisy over his arm.

'Success!' he said, making Daisy smile fondly as she got up to her feet. 'I…hope these are ok, I found them on your bunk.'

'They're perfect, thanks,' Daisy said, as he passed over her comfy black T-shirt and skinny jeans.

Daniel turned around at once to give her some privacy like the proper gentleman he was as Daisy began to remove her suit. However, Daisy winced and paused in the process. Her arms are still aching quite painfully; it strained a great deal just to move them.

'Actually, can you, uh, can you help me get out of this?' Daisy asked tentatively. 'Sorry, my arms are still a little…'

Normally she would have asked Simmons or May, but it seemed a bit over-the-top to call them up here all the way from the bottom of the Lighthouse. Besides, Daniel had a perfectly good set of hands.

Daniel turned around tentatively. 'Of course,' he said, looking a little nervous as he approached her and looked at the suit. 'Uh…h-how…do you actually get this thing off?'

'Oh, there are some zips in the lining here but-'

'Oh I see,' Daniel said, and his eyes shot up his forehead as he looked at the tiny zip embedded, almost invisible, in the suit; it took him multiple attempts before he'd got a firm hold of the miniscule zipper. 'My God, how do you change into this without multiple dressers helping you?! How is there time before a mission to even-?'

'Daniel,' Daisy interrupted, smiling.

'Yep. Sorry.'

He slowly, gently unzipped her, trying desperately hard not to damage her suit somehow or to let his hands linger on her back. Daisy closed her eyes in content as his fingers accidentally brushed her bare skin as he unzipped her, and suddenly all they could hear was each other's deep breathing as they stood there. He was so close that she could feel his warmth and smell the scent of the shampoo he's used, and yet he didn't once try anything. The moment he had reached the bottom of the zip, Daniel stepped back, swallowing as his heart raced on, and looked to see what else he could do help.

He cleared his throat nervously. 'Do you have anything on under this…oh, um, okay.'

Daisy had pulled the suit down slightly, revealing her bare shoulders and a sports bra underneath.

'It's okay,' she murmured reassuringly, turning around to nod at him.

Daniel wordlessly helped remove her arms from the sleeves of the suit. He frowned in concern as he looked down at her forearms and wrists; the bruises had gone down considerably, but they still looked blotchy and painful. He stroked her skin around the bruises gently.

'Do they still hurt?' he asked.

'A little,' Daisy replied.

Daniel went to fetch some bandages from the medical cupboard while Daisy stepped out of the rest of her suit. Barely registering the fact that she was only in her underwear now, Daniel helped pull on her jeans and T-shirt. He then sat down with her and wrapped the bandages carefully around her forearms and wrists, making a mental note to ask Jemma for some solution to ease the pain the next time he saw her. Once he had done, Daniel rested his hand around the back of Daisy's neck briefly as he leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. Daisy almost felt like crying in this moment.

_This is home_ , she realised.

'Thank you,' she murmured, as they both got up from their seats, and then she raised her eyebrows at him. 'Hey, no blue shirt,' she noted.

'No. Finally found one of a different colour, thought it was nice,' Daniel said, and he grimaced at her. 'Bad choice?'

'Not at all. I do miss the suspenders though,' Daisy said, grinning.

Daniel raised his eyebrows playfully. 'Oh, really? You dig that?' he said, looking pleased.

Daisy laughed, her hand resting on his chest. He pressed his palm against it, holding her hand firmly against his chest, and they both smiled at each other amusedly as they felt his heart race beneath her palm. It was such a funny feeling.

Daniel exhaled deeply as he stroked her fingers softly, looking almost nervous. 'Look, we don't have to…I know we should probably talk about…things at some point-'

'You mean, 'us'?' Daisy prompted gently, and she smiled at him bemusedly at the look on his face. 'What, why are you smiling?'

'Just…just because that sounds good. 'Us',' Daniel replied.

It was so hard for him not to go on and say those precious three words that they both knew to be true. But he managed to refrain himself. This wasn't a matter of life and death anymore; this was a matter of taking things slow, of making sure that Daisy was comfortable. Daniel hadn't forgotten what Mack had said about her being hurt before. The last thing she probably wanted right now was a man she'd only know for barely a fortnight professing his love for her. She didn't need any more scares after all she had been through this past week.

Daisy's eyes filled with warmth, relieved to hear his words, happy to know that he felt just the same. 'Yeah, I-I agree.'

'But there's no rush. You need time to recover and…well, a lot's changing,' Daniel said softly. 'Some of the others are already…making plans to leave and…I'm just thinking we should wait for better timing, don't you? When there's nothing else. Just us.'

Daisy gazed up at him in wonder. A few years ago, this kind of talk would have scared her. It would have made her want to run away, if a man had spoken to her like this. But Daniel wasn't any ordinary man. With him she felt steady and safe, and for them both to speak like this just felt natural, it felt right. She wanted this. She hadn't wanted anything for herself in such a very long time. But this, Daniel, she was certain of.

'That sounds good. Thank you…for understanding,' Daisy murmured, stroking his hand, but then her smile faded as she went over what he'd just said. 'They're making plans to leave?'

Daniel's face fell slightly. 'I don't mean…right away. Just…'

'Soon, though.'

'It…it looks that way, yes,' Daniel said heavily.

Daisy thought about that for a moment then looked at him and nodded, a bracing smile half-formed on her lips.

Daniel knew at once what she needed. 'Shall we go see them?' he suggested.

'Yeah,' Daisy replied with a smile.

They headed towards the door to make their way to the bunker but then Daisy paused for a moment, and looked back. She wondered if they would ever come into this room again. She wondered if they would ever be back in this aircraft again. As if he were able to read her mind, Daniel reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Daisy managed a small, tearful smile at him. They both then took one last look in the equipment room and at the healing chamber before walking out together and leaving the Zephyr.

*****

When they reached the lower levels of the Lighthouse, everything seemed a blur. Daisy could see Mack and Flint talking in the corner at the other end of the corridor, she could hear Coulson and May bantering in a nearby room, she could sense Yo-Yo whooshing around somewhere and making Piper laugh. Life was just going on as normal – only…it wasn't normal, was it? It had been far too long since they had all managed to stop for a moment, to just be themselves and relax.

And then Jemma emerged from around the corner.

Daisy's face lit up at once, and Jemma paused, pleasantly surprised to see Daisy up and about in the bunker. Her eyes fell at once to Daisy and Daniel's intertwined hands; she looked back up at Daisy, who exchanged a shy smile with Daniel as he rubbed her thumb, before turning back to Jemma. A beam broke out on Jemma's face, and she rushed towards them.

Daniel let go of Daisy with a smile and she ran at her best friend, flinging her arms around her in a tight, emotional hug.

'Oh, Daisy!' Jemma said, relieved, as they held onto each other. 'It feels like it's been so long since I saw you…well, awake and out of the chamber, anyway. I'm so glad you're…I'm…I'm so sorry for what-'

'Don't be,' Daisy said at once, as they leaned apart. 'You have nothing to be sorry about.'

But Jemma seemed to disagree, judging from the guilt-ridden expression on her face. 'I should have come to see you the moment I heard you were awake, but…'

And then a little voice came from around the corner. 'Mama?'

Daisy turned around in the direction of the voice and felt her heart stop. A little girl had appeared, and was tootling around the corner after her mother, clutching what looked like a toy monkey in her tiny hands. She had light blonde hair, slightly tousled, and wore a blue pinafore dress. Her face had broken out into the sweetest smile Daisy had ever seen.

'There you are, sweetheart, have you been playing with Daddy?' Jemma said fondly, as the girl ran up to her eagerly.

Daisy was stunned. She had known about Alya, but for some reason hadn't quite been able to believe her existence until now, where she could see her in the flesh. It had all just seemed too surreal, too miraculous, too much of a fairy-tale. But she was here, she was real…and she was wonderful. Over the past few weeks, Jemma had always vaguely said that they'd 'had time', whenever Daisy and the others had asked how she and Ftiz had managed to build a time machine into the Zephyr. Daisy would never have predicted that that amount of time had been enough to raise a little girl.

'Are you Daisy?'

Daisy blinked rapidly. Alya was looking directly up at her with an excited smile, her dimples showing prominently.

'We told her many stories about you. All of you,' Jemma explained to Daisy.

Daisy exhaled shakily, nodding, as she turned to Alya and crouched down so that she was on her level. 'Yeah, I'm Daisy.'

Alya beamed. 'I'm Alya,' she said.

'It's really nice to meet you, Alya,' Daisy said, her voice trembling with emotion as she smiled back.

And then, to her astonishment, Alya ran up and hugged her. Daisy felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks as she held the little girl close, but she didn't care. Everything she had put herself through, everything they had all sacrificed, all the danger and despair and pain…it had all been worth it, just for this. For Alya.

When they eventually broke apart, Alya turned to look up at Daniel stood beside Daisy.

'Agent Sousa, look!' she said eagerly, holding up her toy monkey.

'Is that _another_ monkey?' Daniel said, impressed, as he bent down to her. 'You should start your own museum!'

Daisy's mouth fell open and she turned to Jemma, who was gave her a knowing smile as she approached. 'She came to see him quite a bit while you were in the healing chamber yesterday,' she murmured to Daisy, as they watched Alya show Daniel her toy in detail.

'Daisy, what shall we name him?' Alya then asked brightly.

She had Jemma's British accent, but with a slight Scottish twang that made Daisy's heart swell every time she spoke.

'O-oh, uh…'

Daisy couldn't think. Seeing Fitz and Jemma's four-year-old daughter, and then seeing her and Daniel together on top of that, had rendered her completely speechless. Luckily, Alya's father then appeared to save the day.

'Are you _seriously_ considering naming your new monkey without me!' Fitz said jokingly in a tone of mock outrage as he walked up to them all, and a giggling Alya ran at him to hug his knees.

The moment she'd let go, Fitz then walked up to Daisy and wordlessly wrapped his arms around her. Daisy gripped him back tightly as they hugged.

'I knew you'd make it,' he murmured in her ear, and he exchanged a smile with Daniel over her shoulder before he leaned away.

'Just look at her,' Daisy murmured to Jemma and Fitz, dazed, as her fingers brushed against Daniel's and they all watched Alya skip around with her toy monkey. 'Look at what you made. She's…she's wonderful.'

Fitz gazed over at Jemma and they smiled lovingly at each other as he proudly replied, 'I know.'

*****

That night, Daniel was just about to nod off to sleep in his new bunk when he heard a tentative knock on his door.

'Come in,' he said tiredly, slowly sitting up in his bed.

The door opened. It was Daisy, as he knew it would be. She was in a dressing gown that ended just above her knee, with matching slippers. Her hair was damp from the shower.

'Hey,' she murmured, hovering awkwardly in the doorway. 'Sorry, did I wake you?'

'Hey. No, I was still awake. Are you okay?' Daniel asked, swinging his leg over the bed and leaning over to switch on the night light.

He was wearing one of the standard set of pyjamas from the Lighthouse's limited clothing collection. His face was scrunched up slightly – clearly he was very tired and extremely groggy – and his hair was all fluffed up and messy from the pillow. Daisy took a step forward into his room.

'Can I…can I stay with you tonight?' she asked. 'I told Kora she could have my room…I found her lying on a couch, she hasn't had any proper sleep since the other day, she's…she's exhausted. I know there are other rooms here but mine's already made up…'

'O-of course,' Daniel replied. 'No problem at all.'

'Thank you…'

But she trailed off; Daniel had got out of his bed and was moving unsteadily towards his prosthetic leg, which he'd left propped up at the foot of his bed. Daisy watched, bewildered, as he leaned his arm against the bedframe to balance himself.

'Wh-what are you doing?' she asked, as he hopped towards his prosthetic.

'Oh, well I…I just thought…' He gestured his knee awkwardly.

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him as she closed the door behind her. 'You thought it would bother me?'

Daniel stopped then, his hand outstretched towards the prosthetic. 'No,' he said, and he leaned away from the prosthetic and smiled softly at her. 'Not you.'

He sat down then on the edge of his bed, simply because it was easier and less strain on his leg. Daisy approached and waited for him to gesture to her that it was okay before she sat down on the bed beside him.

'Can I see?' she asked quietly.

Surprised, Daniel slowly rolled up his pyjamas bottoms to reveal the stump on his knee. Daisy didn't look horrified or disgusted by it, or full of melodramatic pity like what he had become accustomed to this past decade. If anything, she looked amazed.

'You keep asking me about my stories,' she murmured, looking at him. 'Well some day soon I wanna hear yours.'

'My stories from the war aren't fun, I'm afraid,' Daniel said, a sad sort of smile on his face, and Daisy gave him a sympathetic look.

'I know.'

He sighed deeply. 'It's been eleven years…and sometimes I still forget it's gone. It's almost like I can still feel it.'

'Phantom limb pain,' Daisy said. 'Yo-Yo had it really bad at first, after her arms…'

'She spoke to me about that. Sounds pretty horrific,' Daniel said, but then he smiled. 'Thank God for Simmons and her prosthetics, huh?'

'Yes, but…you know that doesn't mean you have to…hide it, or be…ashamed, or whatever,' Daisy said, her brow creased as she watched him.

'I know that…and thank you. It's part of me,' Daniel said, and he patted his stump, almost fondly. 'But it _is_ nice to be able to walk properly again. I didn't realise how much the limping made my back ache.'

Daisy chuckled softly, before realising that he was gazing at her as if mesmerized. 'What?'

'You really don't mind it, do you?' he said, dazed.

'Why would I?'

Daniel shrugged. 'Guess I'm just paranoid. It's…put people off…in the past.'

Daisy's lips curved at one end slightly as she raised an eyebrow at him, intrigued. 'By people, do you mean…women?'

'Uh…no…' Daniel said, and Daisy laughed at the awkward look on his face. 'I'm not that kind of man, I swear…there have only been two…maybe three…women in my life since the war and it never lasted long or went well and-'

'Daniel. It's okay,' Daisy said firmly, placing her hand over his. 'You're not the only one with a poor romantic history.'

Daniel chuckled, relieved, and laced his fingers with hers; he watched their hands for a while as they sat there in peaceful silence on the bed before looking back up at her. 'How are you doing anyway? Really?'

'I'm okay,' Daisy said thoughtfully, and she shrugged. 'Y'know.'

'Yeah.'

'It's just…it all feels…very strange,' she murmured, and Daniel nodded.

'I know what you mean.'

'It's kinda nice, though,' Daisy said with a smile. 'To have some time to chill, y'know.'

Daniel looked confused. 'Chill?'

'Uh…relax. Downtime,' Daisy clarified, and she looked rather wistful. 'Can't remember the last time we had that.'

A tender smile fell on Daniel's face as he reached out to stroke her damp hair, brushing a front strand out of her face. 'You look tired.'

'Thank you,' she said sarcastically.

Daniel chuckled. 'Come on. You take my bed, I'll go on the couch-'

But Daisy put her hand on his chest to stop him moving. 'Sit back down, mister, you're not going anywhere,' she said, and Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'I'm not kicking you out of your own bed, just budge up. We can fit.'

'A-are you sure?' he asked, his voice suddenly a higher pitch than usual.

Daisy looked at him and realised then that it wasn't the tight squeeze or any potential discomfort on the bed that he was worried about.

'God, it's just typical that I'd fancy a square, huh?' she said exasperatedly, amused.

'Hey!' Daniel said defensively, half-laughing. 'I'm…I'm just…making sure you know that I'm not…presuming…that I have no…that I don't expect…w-well I just want to check you're-'

Daisy cut over his nervous rambling by leaning in, cupping his cheek and pressing her lips tenderly to his. Daniel stopped floundering at once and sat up straight as he kissed her back softly, his hand on her other cheek. When they leant apart, there was a dazed, warm look in his eyes as he gazed at her, his hand stroking her damp hair as Daisy smiled back at him.

'Thank you for checking. It's very sweet of you. But don't worry, my reputation's not gonna be on the line if anyone finds out we shared a bed or…whatever. Trust me, that sort of thing isn't a big deal anymore,' she said, trying not to smirk.

Daniel frowned, bemused. 'I mean…it wasn't in 1955 either. We kinda moved past that. Or, at least, some people did.'

'Well then what the hell are you worried about?' Daisy asked, trying not to laugh as she looked at him incredulously.

'I…I don't know, to be honest,' Daniel admitted, and he couldn't help chuckling along with Daisy as she clasped a hand to her head and shook her head at him.

'You are _such_ a dork.'

Daniel grinned. 'I'm gonna take that as a compliment, just 'cause you keep saying it and by your own words you just said you fancy me, so…'

'Oh, you picked up on that, huh?' Daisy said playfully, smirking back at him.

'Yeah, just call me Sherlock Holmes,' Daniel said, but then he grimaced. 'Wait, do you know about those books?'

'Yeah, I know Sherlock Holmes,' Daisy said, and a silence fell between them as she simply looked at him adoringly.

'What?' Daniel asked gently.

'I just…' Daisy trailed off and pressed her lips together as if embarrassed, and she reached down for his hand again, intertwining his fingers with hers.

'What?' he repeated, bemused.

She looked up from their hands and met his gaze. 'I'm just so happy you're here,' she said.

Daniel smiled. 'Me too.'

He then sat back and made room for her on his bed as he got back under the covers and lifted the duvet for her. Daisy got in beside him and he pressed his lips to her forehead as they lay down side-by-side.

'I really like your hair like that, by the way,' Daisy murmured.

Daniel frowned to himself, incredulous. He'd seen what his hair looked like at night once he'd been in bed – it would stick up in messy curls, and it looked ridiculous. Of course Daisy would like it. He smiled.

'Thanks,' Daniel muttered, chuckling, and shortly afterwards they both went to sleep with his arm around her.

They woke up the next morning around the same time in almost the same position, (although Daniel had lost all feeling in his arm in the middle of the night and so been forced to remove it from around Daisy). They whispered good morning to each other and gazed across the pillow at each other with a soft smile on their faces.

'So…what happens now?' Daniel asked, after a while.

Daisy knew he didn't mean 'now' as in immediately, today. He meant about their future, for all of them, for everyone in this base.

'I don't know,' Daisy replied honestly.

It should terrify her. But instead she found herself strangely relaxed. She could sense her conflicted mindset slowly breaking down its walls to allow herself to even feel excited by Daniel's question. The thought of the future no longer plagued her with fear and despair and loneliness, as it had done for so long. And of all the things that Daisy had achieved recently, it was this that made her most proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a couple more chapters to go and then I'll begin the one-year break stuff :D (this is turning into a beast of a fic but I'm enjoying writing it too much to stop!) 
> 
> Thank you as always for reading and for your lovely support and enthusiasm, it really means so much :)


	26. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

With Mack's encouragement, the team took some time out to rest and recover, and somehow were able to fall into a natural flow very quickly as they relaxed in the Lighthouse.

Daisy couldn't remember the last time she'd had time to just…breathe. To contemplate and live normally and think about what she wanted. Even after the never-ending stress of the L.M.D.s, the Framework, being transported to 2091, the fights with Ruby and Talbot…Daisy hadn't allowed herself a moment to stop, because then Coulson had died, and it had completely devastated her. A week after his death, she had thrown herself into the next task: to find Fitz. And it had all escalated from there. But right now, she didn't have an immediate assignment to attend to. Everyone in her team was safe. There were no urgent life-threatening missions. The planet wasn't in danger of being obliterated. There was an unnatural feeling of calm. And it was wonderful.

Jemma had converted one of the rooms at the far end of the bunker into a sort of living space for them all to congregate, and Daisy spent most of her time there, quite often simply just because she wanted to be there to see Alya. Jemma came to sit beside Daisy on the couch one morning to watch her daughter as she played and laughed with Mack and Daniel, both of whom she had grown immensely attached to.

'I get it now. Why it was our last mission as a team together,' Daisy said, a resigned tone in her voice as she gazed over at the three of them. 'I kept wondering why Enoch and Fitz were so damn sure about it, I…I was convinced they'd got it wrong. But they weren't.'

Jemma looked around at her; Daisy was watching Alya fondly, her heart swelling. It was strange…the moment she'd first met Alya, it was if she'd physically felt her love for Fitz and Jemma expand to twice its original size and cling instantly to this precious little girl.

'You're not gonna stay with S.H.I.E.L.D., are you?' Daisy said softly.

A sad smile appeared on Jemma's face. 'We can't. Being an agent doesn't really allow for…well, a normal family life. Until a few days ago, Alya hadn't even stepped outside, and…well, after four years stuck only on the Zephyr, she deserves…'

'Everything,' Daisy finished for her, and she smiled. 'She deserves everything. You guys deserve everything too, my God, after all you've been through. You gave up so much. You…I can't believe how you managed to do what you did, Jemma.'

Jemma sighed heavily, but then smiled. 'It was worth it in the end. For this. Here, right now,' she said.

They both watched as Coulson and Fitz then entered the room, their faces lighting up as Alya ran up to them and encouraged them to join in her game with Daniel and Mack. This was their family, having fun, smiling and laughing, and Daisy had never seen a more beautiful sight. It was a strange feeling, knowing that they were safe, that there was no imminent threat. It was even stranger that that feeling was tinted with such sadness.

'You deserve a break too, you know, Daisy,' Jemma said, turning to her on the couch. 'Have you…had any thoughts about…what you want to do next?'

'Not really,' Daisy murmured, though her eyes instinctively fell over to Daniel as she watched him ruffle Alya's hair and laugh at something Mack had said.

Jemma followed her gaze. 'Try not to worry,' she said, though she knew from the tender look in Daisy's eyes that she was no longer worried. 'I've got a feeling you'll be all right, whatever you decide.'

'Yeah. I think so,' Daisy said, smiling.

As if he could feel his eyes on her, Daniel turned away from Alya and met Daisy's gaze as she watched him from the couch, and he smiled back at her.

Daniel would love nothing more than to just sit in a room with Daisy all day long to talk and get to know each other more and for her to teach him more about the 21st century. He'd experienced a brief snippet of that the other day when she'd shown him the magical workings of her incredible telephone device, and it had felt so lovely. But they would have plenty of time for that. Days and weeks and months of time for that. For now, they needed to make the most of whatever time they had left with this extraordinary group of people.

Back in 1986 in the other timeline when offering to stay behind, Daniel had said, 'I belong here'. But he had been wrong. _This_ was where he belonged, in this time, with these people…even if they wouldn't always be together as a group like they were now. There was a feeling of finality in the air, a certain bittersweet atmosphere whenever they sat down to eat together or grab a drink. Daniel sometimes felt like he was encroaching on something private, but then Mack would clap his hand on his shoulder or Jemma and Fitz would ask him to watch over Alya or Coulson and Daisy would smile at him as if he were a hero in his own right, and Daniel would be sure then that he was truly a part of this as well. And despite the fact that they could all sense that the end of an era was fast approaching, there was another feeling of something new and exciting about to start, the anticipation of an unknown future with endless opportunities and the world as their oyster, and it made it all a little easier.

Daisy knew that their missions together may have come to an end now, but that didn't stop her from throwing herself almost at once into a new personal mission of hers: her sister. Kora often kept to herself in the Lighthouse, and although she joined them for any group meals or game nights, it was normally just because Daniel or May would have encouraged her, and even then she didn't talk to any of them much and tried to keep to the shadows. Daisy wasn't sure if it was out of anxiety or guilt, or that she was overwhelmed by grief for her mother and alarm at all that had happened with Malick and the Chronicoms, or perhaps it was just because Kora wasn't used to such a tight-knit family unit. She had felt lonely and trapped all her life. Daisy wanted to help change that but it was hard. She took some time every day to speak to Kora, to get to know her better. It was awkward and at times difficult, but May tried to help with this; she seemed to have taken on the role of group counsellor, and she understood Kora better than any of them.

It was a huge comfort to know that Kora had May. Daisy had never been more grateful for her former S.O….and also for Daniel. Daisy knew that she had become a powerhouse, and he was helping bring her back to Earth in a way. Just the mere sight of him walking down the corridor or laughing with her teammates filled Daisy with joy and relief and a certain reassurance that, no matter what was coming their way now, everything was going to be all right. She knew that now. She just hoped that Kora would come to know that feeling too. It would take a little time, Daisy knew that, but with a little guidance, she would get there in the end.

One evening found the team all sat around with music playing and bottles of beers being passed around, and Coulson was talking eagerly to Daniel about his past SSR cases with Peggy and his early experiences with S.H.I.E.L.D.. It was still rather strange for Daniel to hear someone talk to him about his past work like this, as if they were famous historic events. He caught Daisy's eye over Coulson's shoulder and she wiggled her eyebrows at him, grinning, from the other side of the room while she talked to Fitz. He had just returned from taking Alya to bed, and Daisy had taken the opportunity to speak to him about a certain issue she was still finding hard to process from his many revelations at the New York safe house a few days ago.

'So…sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all…you _really_ saw all our futures?' she asked, not sure whether to be amazed or a little disturbed. 'When you were studying the time stream, you could just…see what was going to happen?'

Fitz tilted his head thoughtfully. 'Only up to a certain point,' he replied. 'I couldn't see anything beyond…well, the other night, with the Chronicoms and Malick. Guess the odds weren't exactly in our favour, but now you saved us all…I guess the time stream is caput now, everything's in flux. We're free to write our own future again.'

'That sounds nice. It must have been…crazy…seeing all the different…possibilities of what could happen,' Daisy said, her brow creased in concern as she watched Fitz; she couldn't imagine how overwhelming that must have been.

'Yup. It was. There were countless eventualities, there were so many bloody different timelines branching off. We went through all possible outcomes and it was near impossible to distinguish between all the different factors,' Fitz said wearily, but then his face softened as he glanced sideways at Daisy. 'But there were…just a _few_ things that were constant…in each timeline…in each outcome…in each possibility we saw.'

Daisy didn't ask him what that was. She didn't need to. Her eyes fell on Daniel as he chatted animatedly to Jemma and Coulson over in the corner, and the sight of his smile made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

'Did we save him every time, in '55?' she asked Fitz quietly, still gazing over at Daniel.

Fitz nodded. 'Yes. Either because of Mack's decision or…you rebelling and taking it upon yourself to save his life. And every time he stayed with the team. And every time you both saved each other, countless times,' he said, and he smiled at her. 'And every time you fell in love.'

Daisy's lips parted as she watched Daniel. Could people really fall in love so fast? It seemed so silly, so ludicrous, so impossible. It had only been two weeks since they had met. And yet she couldn't contradict what Fitz had said, because she knew it was true.

'You…you could see all that?' Daisy murmured, dazed. 'Just by looking at some weird time stream thing and…'

'Well, depends what you mean by 'see'. They are only predictions and probabilities but…I was better at reading the time stream than Sybil, you see, because I saw past just everyone's actions. I saw everyone's emotions, unlike her…which, at the end of the day, is what saved us all, isn't it? That's what really mattered,' Fitz said, exhaling deeply. 'Though for me I don't think I really _saw_ it…with you and Sousa…until I saw you two together in Deke's timeline at the bar.'

Daisy smiled sadly. 'Oh, Deke. You're gonna miss him.'

'Eh…he was…an annoying prick,' Fitz muttered, fidgeting with his hand as he looked down.

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. 'He was your grandson.'

'Yep. But…if and when he's ever born in this timeline, his life will be nothing like Deke's – well, the Deke we know – so…he'll grow up to be a completely different guy, won't he?' Fitz said heavily, and his chin quivered slightly. 'I know that should make me bloody relieved and happy but, err…I don't seem to feel that way right now.'

His eyes looked rather wet as he averted his gaze, embarrassed; Daisy's face fell and she put her arm around him. She had never thought there would be a day when she would see Fitz upset over the loss of Deke. Sometimes she forgot that he and Jemma were mourning not just one, but two members of their family. Jemma and Fitz had been forced to tell Alya a few days ago that Uncle Enoch has gone, and their sadness at this had only deepened when they'd realised that they couldn't tell Alya anything about Deke, not even as a story; it could risk everything, seeming as Deke's was Alya's future son. But Daisy was sure that they would get through it, in time. They had Alya, safe and sound, and the knowledge that Deke was happy and well and no doubt leading an excellent life performing with his band and helping rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. in the other timeline.

The days continued to go by slowly but surely. Daisy got stronger every day, and her ability to taste food returned (Jemma suspected that it had been a strange after-effect of drifting out in the vacuum of space for too long). Daisy considered herself immensely lucky if that was all she'd had to suffer; that healing chamber really was a miracle.

Daisy wished that she could just stop the days from passing, to freeze time so that they could stay here forever, all of them together at the Lighthouse, Daniel always at her side. But of course they couldn't do that. The inevitable was already creeping up on them; even though no one spoke of it explicitly at first and avoided the subject, by the end of the week they could put it off no longer.

Fitz and Simmons announced to the team after dinner one evening that they were in the process of looking for a house in Scotland; they'd enjoyed their home on the Zephyr, but it was time that Ayla had a proper childhood, with playgrounds and parks and a school and children to play with. She needed to breathe the air and smell the grass and feel the breeze and the sun on her face. It was time for them to retire from S.H.I.E.L.D., and so they were going to go to the UK to stay with Jemma's parents' while they looked for their dream family house.

The next day they were all packed and ready to leave, though of course not before the team toasted a drink to them before they were due to set off. Mack and Coulson thanked the pair for everything they had done for S.H.I.E.L.D., and in particular for the time, effort and sacrifices they had both made to save the timeline and the world. Without them, the team would never have had a chance at succeeding.

'I'm so happy for you both,' Daisy sobbed, flinging her arms around Jemma tightly as they stood by the hangar doors. 'I'm really going to miss you guys.'

'Hey, it's all right, we'll visit. And you can visit us, we'd love that!' Jemma said, wiping away her own tears as they hugged. 'We'll keep in touch, I promise.'

Fitz gripped Daniel's hand tightly and shook it. 'Thank you, Agent Sousa,' he said, glancing pointedly at Daisy.

'Thank _you_ ,' Daniel said; without Fitz, their ability to travel through time on the Zephyr would never have been possible, and he would be dead by now in 1955 – and worse, he would never have met Daisy or the rest of the team.

While Daisy and Fitz embraced, Daniel paused as he looked at Jemma, suddenly feeling rather upset. Jemma had become a dear friend to him. She smiled tearfully as she wrapped her arms around him.

'You'll be all right,' Jemma said to him, once she'd leant away. 'I think 21st-century life will suit you actually. If you need any help or advice or…well, anything, just let us know, okay?'

'I will. Thank you,' Daniel said sincerely, and then his face lit up as Alya came up to him and Daisy.

'Hello, you,' Daisy said fondly, wiping her tears as she and Daniel both crouched down so that they were on her level.

Alya hadn't wanted to go at all; apparently she'd been quite distressed last night when Jemma and Fitz had told her their plan to move away from this group of people she'd only just become attached to, but then the prospect of meeting her grandparents in England had softened the blow somewhat. She seemed quite composed now – definitely more so than Daisy, at least, who was still struggling to cope with the idea that the two best friends she had started out with on the Bus were leaving for good.

Alya then held out a turquoise-coloured toy monkey – Jemma had made quite an extensive collection for her during those years away on the Zephyr – and passed it to Daisy and Daniel. 'This is for you two.'

'Wh…for us?' Daisy said, deeply touched, as she and Daniel glanced at each other.

'It's a goodbye present,' Alya said simply, as Daisy and Daniel took the monkey gently from her. 'Look after her for me, and bring her when you come to visit us.'

Daisy's lips trembled as she tried not to burst out crying again. 'That's a promise,' she said firmly, clutching Alya's tiny hand in her own, and a tear trickled down her cheek.

'We'll treasure her,' Daniel said warmly. 'She's splendid.'

Beaming, Alya then flung her arms around them both. Daisy and Daniel hugged her back tightly, and Jemma and Fitz gave each other a knowing smile as they looked at them both. They didn't have to worry about Daisy; they were leaving her in good hands.

Once they had finished saying goodbye to everyone, the Fitzsimmons family then left the Lighthouse for the very last time and headed off to the airport with their belongings. Daisy felt a lump rise in her throat as she turned away from the closing hangar doors, her eyes wet and bloodshot, but then her face softened as she looked at Daniel and his hand found hers.

That night she went to his room as usual. There was no end of spare bunks and rooms that Kora could have gone in, but Daisy had insisted that she stay in hers, as it was slightly more homey and less sterile than the others. And also, she'd just wanted to stay with Daniel. Nothing ever happened; they simply lay next to each other on the bed and talked to each other in soft voices into the early hours of the night before falling asleep. Something was different about tonight, however. Neither of them could explain it, why the atmosphere in the room tasted so different as Daniel closed the door behind them and wrapped his arms around Daisy's waist, but it was. There was a hunger in both their eyes as they slowly leaned in, breathing deeply and hesitating, before their lips eventually met.

Daisy brought her hands up to his face, and he tangled his in her hair slowly as they walked backwards towards the bed, Daniel deepening the kiss. The feel of his kiss and his touch, both tender yet passionate, was like nothing Daisy had experienced before. When he kissed her like this, it made her completely forget that he was a supposedly old-fashioned gentleman from 1955. It made her forget pretty much everything, apart from the fact that she wanted him, all of him. And yet she couldn't help breaking apart from him, the nerves overcoming her, and she gazed up at him, her hands still around his neck as he looked back at her breathlessly, his eyes smouldering.

'I'm sorry, I…' he murmured, slowly removing his hands from around her waist.

'No, I…don't be sorry, it's just…listen, I…it's been a while…well, a _long_ time…since I…' Daisy trailed off as she glanced pointedly over to the bed.

'Oh-oh, me too,' Daniel said reassuringly.

There was no hint of embarrassment as he said it; there had been pretty much no one since Peggy.

Daisy looked at him surprise. 'Really?'

'W-well…yeah, why?'

'Well you're…I mean, look at you,' Daisy said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Daniel tilted his head at her sceptically. 'I could say the same thing about you,' he said, a hint of a smirk on his face. 'Though…like I said before, most women in my time didn't find one-legged men an attractive prospective.'

Daisy rolled her eyes. 'Well that makes no difference to me, you know that. I just, uh…do you mind if we…don't…tonight?' she asked awkwardly.

'Oh no, no, of course not,' Daniel said at once, holding her hands. 'I'm sorry, I didn't want you to think…I was never expecting…I never presumed-'

But Daisy cut over his stammering by cupping his cheek softly. 'I know that, don't worry,' she said softly.

'I'm thinking we should…take it slow,' Daniel said, nodding. 'Do things properly, you know…and…see how you feel about things.'

Daisy smiled; did he really doubt her? 'I'm pretty sure how I feel about some things,' she murmured.

'Yeah?' Daniel said with a smile.

'Yeah,' Daisy said, pressing her lips tenderly to his for a moment. 'But…I kind of died a few days ago and I'm still feeling a little…well, not in the best shape, so…as much as I want to, I don't really feel like I should be having sex at the moment.'

Daniel swallowed loudly, as if he'd never heard the word spoken out loud before.

'Oh,' Daisy said, pressing her lips together to try and stop herself from laughing. 'Sorry, I've shocked you again. Sometimes I still forget you're from the fifties. Different attitude back then…sort of, anyway.'

But Daniel's parted lips were smiling, dazed; he liked how confident and liberal-minded she could be. 'Should I be wary about the attitude in the 21st century?' he asked playfully.

'Nope. You've got nothing to fear. Well, apart from me, of course.'

'Of course,' Daniel said, but then his smile faded as he gazed at her. 'We're very different, I know that. I'm…well, like you say, I'm old-fashioned. And you're so…well, modern, forward-thinking, brilliant-'

'Hey. _You're_ forward-thinking as well,' Daisy said firmly, poking him on his chest. 'My God, you're a man from _1955_. Anyone else in your position at S.H.I.E.L.D. would have probably refused to work with a woman or anyone who wasn't white, but you never even understood why that was an issue for most of them. You were the only person in the Area 51 base who showed me any respect. And Mack.'

Daniel smiled, though his forehead was creased with shame as he thought of his time and the brutal truth to Daisy's words. 'Thank you for that. But…I'm still out of my comfort zone, I'm still adjusting – which you _don't_ want to have to deal with – and…well, I'm just a fish out of water, aren't I?' he said helplessly, and then he frowned. 'Wait, do you have that saying in your time?'

'Yeah, we do,' Daisy said, smiling.

He sighed. 'Let's face it, I'm still a square.'

'Yeah. You are,' Daisy said, cupping his cheeks. 'But you're _my_ square.'

A relieved sort of smile broke out on Daniel's face as he gazed back at her. 'Is that so?'

'Mh-hmm,' Daisy murmured, smiling fondly at him, and she kissed his cheek. 'Now stop worrying, and…let's just…get some sleep, okay? Think we could both do with it.'

The next morning when Daisy woke up, she could already feel Daniel's hand softly stroking her hair before she'd even opened her eyes. When she looked up, she saw that he had propped his elbow up on the pillow and was gazing at her with a tender smile on his face,

'Morning,' she murmured, smiling back as she stifled a yawn.

'Morning. How do you do it?' Daniel asked quietly.

'What?'

'Look like that. After the week you had,' he said, running his fingers through her hair, and Daisy smiled. 'I mean, my God, if I have a few drinks too many one night I'll wake up looking like I've come back from the dead, but _you_ -'

'Oh, stop it,' she interrupted, embarrassed.

'I'm serious!' Daniel said, and they both laughed as she shoved her pillow at him, blushing.

He leaned over and stole a kiss from her; his lips lingered on hers before he tore himself away and scrambled out of bed to fit on his prosthetic leg.

'Are you hungry?' he asked her, once he'd put on his prosthetic, and he moved over to open the door. 'Shall I get us some breakfast?'

Daisy had sat up and was gazing at him stood there in those adorable pyjamas with that mess of curly hair. 'No, I'm not…I don't want any food,' she said, slowly pulling back the covers and getting out of bed.

'Okay. I haven't heard anyone else up yet, I guess it's still quite early,' Daniel said as she walked up to him. 'Do you wanna get some more sleep, or…talk or…?'

He trailed off in a daze; she had reached out behind him and closed the door again. Her face was inches from his, and there was a look in her eyes that he'd caught a mere glimpse of last night when they'd first come into this room. It was a look that made his heart race.

'Daisy,' he murmured.

Daisy wondered if he knew just how attractive his voice was, how it felt to hear him speak her name like that. 'What?' she said quietly.

'Why are you looking at me like that?' Daniel asked, a hint of a smile forming on his lips.

'Like what?'

Daniel tilted his head as he tried not to smirk at her innocent expression. 'Like you forgot what we said last night about, y'know, taking things slow.'

Daisy turned the lock on the door behind him. 'It's a new day,' she said, shrugging casually. 'People can change their minds.'

Daniel nodded thoughtfully. 'You make a very compelling argument.'

'Mm-hmm, I think so.'

He swallowed; her baggy pyjama T-shirt had slid down quite a bit, revealing her bare shoulder and the top of her chest. 'Daisy, I…I haven't felt this way about anyone in a-a _very_ long time.'

'Me neither.'

'And I haven't…I haven't been with a woman in-'

'Hey. It's okay,' Daisy reassured him at once. 'If you don't want to-'

'No. Th-that's _not_ what I'm saying. I've never wanted anything more,' Daniel said, pressing his forehead against hers, 'but…y-you deserve…the best…and…you know, I'm…I'm okay, I'm solid, I'm…I'm a decent agent, but…I-I'm nothing special, I don't have any…superpowers or anything, I'm just a normal, boring guy-'

Daisy interrupted him with a kiss because she knew the rest of what he was going to say, because he was exactly the kind of man to put himself down, and she would hear none of it. If he was right and she did deserve the best, then it was _him_ she chose. _Him_ that was the best.

'Hey. You're _Daniel Sousa_ ,' Daisy said, gripping his arms. 'Your personality is pretty much a superpower in itself.'

Daniel considered her for a moment then began to smile. 'You're good, you know, I'll give you that,' he said in an irresistible voice.

'What are you saying, that I'm trying to seduce you?' Daisy said in mock outrage.

'Well quite possibly.'

'Well you're wrong, I would never do that.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her teasingly. 'No?'

'No, not at all,' Daisy said, before bringing her grinning lips back to his.

When they eventually broke apart, there was a dazed smile on Daniel's face as he looked at her. 'I…that was nice.'

Daisy laughed softly. 'That's what I said. In the time loops,' she said without thinking, and Daniel paused, looking confused.

'Wh-what?'

'Oh. Yeah,' Daisy said, grimacing slightly, and she smiled at him. 'We…we kinda kissed before in one of the time loops. Y'know, on the Zephyr.'

Daniel stared at her, utterly bemused. 'W-we already kissed and you didn't tell me?'

'Well it was kind of hard to bring up in conversation,' Daisy said defensively, 'and we were a little preoccupied with my mom showing up and then Malick and the Chronicoms and-'

'So you've known how I-I felt…ever since the time storm?' Daniel said, incredulous.

'W-well yeah but-'

'And I…I don't even remember our first kiss.' His face had fallen slightly.

'I can tell you about it, if you like,' Daisy said, her hand rising to his cheek. 'Everything that happened with us that day. The kiss, the things you said, th-the things you did for the team. Everything. It's…it's when I realised how I felt about you.'

Daisy knew that was an understatement. When she had kissed him in the time loops, that had been the moment she had willingly surrendered her heart to him, the man who overcame her senses, the man who helped her believe in herself, the man who was everything she had ever wanted and more.

A hopeful smile appeared on Daniel's face. 'It was?'

'Yeah.'

He slowly leaned in then and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was slow and tender at first, but then Daisy's hands began to undo the top buttons of his pyjama shirt, and he deepened the kiss as he moved her slowly back towards the bed –

But then he broke apart from her. 'Daisy…are you sure?' he asked. 'I mean, really?'

Daisy smiled at him, her arms wrapped around his neck. 'We survived, Daniel. Somehow, after everything, after all that's happened these past few weeks, we survived. And _you're_ here, you're _alive_ – what – nearly seventy years on from the day you were supposed to die?! It's a friggin' miracle,' she said, dazed. 'But I don't just wanna survive anymore. I want to live.'

His gaze going back and forth between her eyes and her lips, Daniel then kissed her again with smiling lips, and they fell onto the bed, laughing, his hands on the bare skin of her waist under her T-shirt as they kissed passionately and –

There was a firm knock at the door, and they both froze.

'Agent Sousa. Are you awake?' Mack called.

Daniel's eyes widened; he was immensely grateful that Daisy had locked the door, otherwise the Director would have walked in to find his new good friend lying on top of Daisy, his lips on her neck and his hand under her shirt. He swallowed nervously as Daisy tried not to laugh beneath him.

'Uh…yes?' Daniel called back, grinning as he covered Daisy's mouth with his hand so that Mack couldn't hear her chuckling.

'Sorry to bother you so early but I've had an urgent call from HQ, I'm thinking now is a good time as any for us all to regroup,' Mack said. 'You good to meet us in the control room?'

'Uh…yeah I can be there in, uh' – Daniel paused as he looked at Daisy, who was raising her eyebrows at him and smirking – 'ten…fifteen minutes? Twenty?'

'Let's make it five,' Mack said, and Daniel could practically hear the roll of his eyes as he rapped on the door again. 'Johnson, I'm guessing you're in there as well. As quickly as you can, please, guys.'

Daniel slowly turned to look at Daisy as they listened to Mack's heavy footsteps walk away, and then at the same time they both burst out laughing.

'Shush! Keep it down,' Daisy whispered; Daniel raised his eyebrows at her and she raised a hand to her head as she laughed uncontrollably.

' _You_ are a bad influence on me,' Daniel said, chuckling as he stroked her bare arm. 'I can't believe that just happened.'

'No, me neither. That was hilarious,' Daisy said, breathless, and she pulled his lips back to hers briefly before forcing herself to lean away.

Daniel smiled at her. 'Another time?' he asked, his hand stroking the small of her back under her T-shirt.

'Another time,' Daisy agreed with a nod.

He kissed her once more before leaning off her and getting off the bed to get dressed, his cheeks still red, as both of them relished how wonderful it felt just to not be able to keep the huge smile off their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pure fluff, I know, I'm sorry! 
> 
> Just to let you know, I've finished my (very detailed!!) plan for the rest of this fic and it'll end with Chapter 31 (so a few more chapters to go yet!!) Hope you enjoy! Thanks for still reading and for your lovely comments as always :)


	27. A Parting of the Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Daniel and Daisy were still chuckling when they entered the control room together, though Daisy's laughter died down slightly when she saw the knowing smirk on May's face and she felt herself blush furiously. The rest of the team were already assembled – aside from Flint, who was in the Zephyr helping Piper with the new L.M.D. of Davis. Mack was looking around at them all heavily, as if this was a moment he had been dreading. Daisy knew at once then what this was about, and she felt her smile disappear.

'I know we've all been putting this off for a while now. But Fitzsimmons have left and…well, it's time for us to make plans,' Mack said, sighing deeply, and his eyes met Daisy's briefly. 'I've been asked to make a decision on whether this place is to carry on being used as a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, so…'

'You said HQ called you?' Daisy said. 'I didn't even…know we had a proper HQ anymore.'

'That's the point, we don't. Not really. I've been asked to head up a new assignment there and…well, rebuild it,' Mack replied.

'Fitzsimmons haven't tempted you to retire then?' Coulson asked, smiling.

'Surprisingly, no. Retirement from field work, maybe. I'm done with fighting, at least for now. But I'm still Director,' Mack said firmly. 'And I've been MIA for long enough. I think it's time to get the agency back on track.'

Daisy nodded, smiling. Daniel looked immensely pleased as well. He knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. could be in no greater hands.

'I'm nowhere near done with field work,' Yo-Yo chimed in, exchanging a smile with Mack. 'That's what I'm best at, that's where my powers are most useful. Piper mentioned to me yesterday that she'd like to…get back out there, take on some new assignments.'

'And don't forget Davis,' Coulson interjected.

'Oh, yeah. And Davis, now. So…maybe we could do that. There are still plenty of Inhumans and 0-8-4s out there to deal with, after all,' Yo-Yo said, and everyone nodded; they all knew that Yo-Yo was happiest where the action was.

'What about you, May?' Daisy asked, swallowing.

'I…'

May's eyes fell on Coulson. It was hard to read both their expressions as their gaze lingered on each other, and yet it felt like a thousand unspoken words were passing between them. Daisy felt almost like they were all intruding. But then the moment was gone as quickly as it had come, and May turned to address the rest of them.

'I've been talking to Doctor Benson a lot over the past few days. We…we want to get back to our old plans,' she said.

Daisy's face lit up in pleasant surprise. 'The Academy?'

'Yes,' May replied, smiling, as Kora looked up in interest from the corner of the room. 'We want to build it from the ground up. A fresh start for the agency. New recruits, only the best instructors-'

'Of which you'll be one,' Daisy guessed.

'Y-yes,' May said, as Yo-Yo looked at her in shock. 'I think it's time. I mean, I'm in my late fifties now and-'

'You're _what_?!' Daniel blurted out, and everyone looked at him; he raised his hands apologetically. 'Sorry, I just…I thought you were forty or something.'

'Tell me about it,' Coulson muttered.

May's lips twitched. 'Well…thank you, Agent Sousa, that's very flattering. But I'm not. I'm still good at what I do, I know that. Fighting has always been my strong point and…I'll always be the Cavalry now,' she said, and Daisy and Coulson exchanged a proud smile. 'But…I want to end on a high. These past few missions have taken it out of me and…I still need to get to grips with this new ability I have. You never know…maybe I can use it for good, at the Academy.'

Daisy smiled. 'I'm sure you will.'

'Flint said he'd be interested in applying, once it's…up and running,' May said.

'That's great,' Coulson said commendably.

'I'll check in on him from time to time. I'd like to help out with his training, if I can,' Yo-Yo said; she had always been very attached to Flint.

'That would be wonderful.'

Kora cleared her throat as she took a step closer into the circle. 'I…I was wondering if I could sign up as well?' she asked. 'Or…at least, take a look around, once it's finished. Just to see. Or even…help you and Doctor Benson? I mean, a fresh pair of eyes can't hurt, right?'

Daisy's face fell slightly. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be parted from Kora just yet; this whole fight had been for their family, and Kora was now part of that.

Kora swallowed uncomfortably as everyone looked at her in surprise. 'I did a lot of bad things, with Nathaniel. I want to make up for it, and…I-I want to use these powers I have to do some good, if I can,' she said, and she looked at May. 'If you can help train me on how to do that, then…maybe I could…be a decent field agent one day.'

'You don't have to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D., you know, Kora,' Daisy said, a concerned frown on her face. 'Just because that's how you found us and it's where I am, it…it doesn't mean you have to…-'

'I know. But I want to,' Kora said firmly, and she looked around at them all. 'I've seen everything you guys have done in the name of S.H.I.E.L.D….how much good you've done, how many lives you've saved, and-and all the sacrifices you've made. Nathaniel and Sybil only made me see the bad stuff…but now I…it's inspiring, everything you've all done. And I'd like to be part of it. If you can give me a second chance.'

May smiled at her warmly. 'Of course. It can be a new start for you, if it's what you really want. And I'm sure Daisy will…want to visit regularly to see you…' she said, glancing encouragingly at Daisy, 'help with your training…'

'Absolutely. Coulson, maybe…maybe you could help out as well? At the Academy?' Daisy said hopefully, her voice wavering as she turned to face Coulson.

But Coulson smiled sadly. 'The real Phil Coulson is dead. I think I'd kinda freak out the new recruits if they saw me walking around,' he said, chuckling dryly. 'No need for you all to look at me like that, I'm…I'm not…going anywhere final just yet. I think I'll take a few months, maybe a year…just take a break, reassess…'

'Reassess on what?' Daisy asked anxiously.

'How I feel about…well, myself. This…strange new way of existing,' Coulson replied, exhaling. 'It's still a little hard for me. But I want to travel, and I don't need to be the guy in charge anymore – I'm leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. in very capable hands. Besides, I've always wanted a quiet life. Even if just for a little bit. See how I feel.'

Daisy sighed in relief; she'd been worried after their conversations during the time loops that he would want to turn himself off now that the mission was done with. She glanced over at May, who was smiling tenderly at Coulson. She knew from that look that May would always love him, that she would always appreciate this version of Coulson as the true embodiment of the man she'd known for so many wonderful years…but also that he wasn't the real him. Their time had passed now.

She was so lost in thought about May and Coulson's relationship, how they had tragically only had around two weeks together as a couple before Coulson had died, that it took Daisy a while to notice that everyone in the team had now turned to face her. They were looking at her and Daniel expectantly, waiting to hear what they had planned.

Daniel swallowed slightly; Daisy wasn't the only one scared of what was going to come next. All he had known since his new life had begun was this team of people, and the mission to defeat the Chronicoms. Now that it was over, and everyone was going their separate ways, what was left for him? He had disturbed a tight-knit group; he didn't want any of them to feel lumbered with him or think they had to take him with them just because they felt responsible for him. And he certainly didn't want to put any pressure on Daisy or rush into anything, not after all she had been through. He glanced at Daisy awkwardly; they hadn't even had time to discuss what they wanted and where they saw this going, and now everyone seemed to be expecting them to decide their future on the spot just like that.

Daniel cleared his throat. 'Well, I…I'll always be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, through and through,' he said. 'And I'd like to help you all, however I can. The Academy, rebuilding the agency…it sounds wonderful.'

'I'm sure I can pull a few strings, get you a place at HQ if you wanted,' Mack offered, and he frowned slightly, 'though…maybe not as Daniel Sousa who died in 1955, that might…complicate things…'

Daniel chuckled. 'Thank you, Mack. It means a lot. But, uh…for now, it's just…' He paused, not really knowing how to put it into words, and Daisy watched him attentively; he hadn't spoken about any of this yet. 'I haven't really had time to…well, to…'

'To stop?' May finished for him gently. 'To process?'

'Yeah. Exactly,' Daniel said, and he exhaled relief as he saw that everyone was looking at him with understanding expressions. 'I kind of…I think I need to take a bit of a break first, before I get straight into any work, to…adjust, I guess. I want to…get to know the 21st century for a little bit before I dive back in. It's a whole new world for me.'

'Quite right, too,' Coulson said approvingly.

'You've…been doing remarkably well, with all of this, Sousa,' May said.

'Thank you,' Daniel replied humbly, looking embarrassed. 'It hasn't felt like it sometimes.'

'No. Really. It's insane how well you've been coping,' Yo-Yo said, as everyone nodded.

'I agree,' Daisy interjected, and Daniel chuckled.

Mack then stepped forward to Daniel and held out his hand. 'And you have it on my word as Director that there'll be a place ready and waiting for you, whenever you want to return,' he promised.

Daniel smiled as he shook his hand. 'Thank you, Mack,' he said sincerely.

A silence then fell as everyone's eyes turned slowly to Daisy. She could feel them all watching her, and yet she took a moment to simply gaze ahead of her, to freeze time just briefly. She couldn't believe that this day had finally come. She didn't want to believe it. Their little bubble of playing happily families had been broken, and now it was time to face real life again, to go back into the real world. She wasn't sure if she was ready for it. But then her eyes met Daniel's, and his tender gaze reminded her that she was Daisy Johnson, and she could be ready for anything.

Daisy swallowed as she turned to face them all. 'I've…I've been thinking about it, a lot. And I don't think I'm ready to give any of this up. S.H.I.E.L.D. will always be…well, it would be nice to see if I can try and get a life outside of it, but…I'm not done with it yet,' she said, smiling fondly to herself. 'Seeing Jiaying last week…it reminded me of what I set out to do a few years ago. There are Inhumans out there who still need help and guidance, and who can help S.H.I.E.L.D.. The Secret Warriors team… – don't start on that name, Sousa' – she grinning warningly at Daniel as he raised his eyebrows at her, amused – '…well…I lost sight of that initiative when…well, when other things got in the way. Y'know, with Lincoln-'

'Ghost Rider,' Yo-Yo added.

'-The L.M.D. invasion…'

'Trapped in the Framework…' Coulson said darkly.

'Being transported to 2091…' Daniel interjected, pleased that he knew about at least one of these.

'Ruby and General Talbot just…well, going nuts…' Daisy went on. 'Trying to find Fitz in space for a year…'

'Izel and the Shrike wanting to invade the planet…' May said, shaking her head.

'Travelling through time to fight an army of robots…' Mack finished grimly.

'Yeah, so…the Secret Warriors team kind of…went to the back of my mind…when all that…crazy shit was happening,' Daisy said awkwardly.

Mack raised his eyebrows. 'Can't say I blame you.'

'But I'd like to get back to it. If I can. There's no Afterlife now, but…there are still Inhumans who need help, there are still wars to fight…and there'll always still be S.H.I.E.L.D,' Daisy said, and Kora smiled, inspired by her sister. 'And, like a very good and _very_ handsome man once said, I'll always be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, through and through.'

Daniel smiled back at her warmly.

Mack nodded. 'I'm very glad to hear it,' he said, and he exhaled deeply as he looked at her in amazement. 'Daisy Johnson, you saved the world. You're as good as any one of the Avengers – hell, better, even – and yet no one knows.'

Daisy shrugged. 'I prefer it that way. The whole 'Quake' phase with the press was seriously annoying,' she said, giving Daniel a pointed glance. 'Anyway, I know my value. I don't really care if the world doesn't.'

Her words stirred something in Daniel, and he took a step closer to her and wrapped his hand in hers, his heart swelling. She looked up at him and squeezed his hand back tightly, a gentle smile on her face.

'Well _we_ know as well,' Mack said, as everyone gazed at her admiringly. 'And we're forever grateful.'

The rest of the day passed by in a blur while people began to pack up their things and go round the various rooms in the Lighthouse, checking that they hadn't left any personal belongings anywhere, while they carried on their exciting discussions on new potential cases and rebuilding the agency and continuing the work that S.H.I.E.L.D. had always set out to do.

Daisy tried to keep her head held high and her tears at bay the whole time. She knew that they weren't being forced to split up. She knew that they would see each other again. It wouldn't be the same, not at all, but like Mack had told her in the Quinjet, that was okay. She didn't feel lost anymore, and it helped that she had Daniel Sousa stood by her side.

But she couldn't help still feeling a little scared. She had become too attached before and then lost that person, and she was still scarred by it. But it was too late to stop that from happening with Daniel now. She had already fallen. And somehow she knew that he would never hurt her. He would never give up or abandon her. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and it didn't take May's empathic powers to know that he cared for Daisy deeply. The only thing that Daisy wasn't sure about how Daniel felt was his future. A part of her sensed that he was afraid, perhaps even troubled by it. And she had a feeling she knew exactly why that was.

Daisy found him in the control room by himself later that afternoon, swivelling on one of the chairs as he looked in awe at the technology on the control pads. The others were finishing off packing and planning their journey on the Zephyr tomorrow morning. Daisy wasn't sure if Daniel was expecting her to go with them or not. Should they stay here and take some time to figure things out? Should they go on a road trip to some place completely random? She had no idea what was going through his head about what she was going to do, what his expectations were. She cleared her throat as she entered the room.

'Hey,' Daniel greeted, nearly falling off his swivel chair as he spun round to face her.

'Hey,' Daisy said, smiling, as she walked over to him. 'The others have…nearly finished packing. We're thinking of getting a takeout later, and…well, a drink, of course. A spy's goodbye.'

Daniel nodded slowly. 'So…they're definitely setting off tomorrow?' he asked.

'Yep. May's going away to meet with Doctor Benson, and…the rest are heading to HQ in New York. Think Coulson's gonna ask them to drop him off somewhere on the way,' Daisy replied, leaning on his chair.

'Nice.'

Daisy swallowed and averted her gaze as she sat down on the chair beside him. 'Mack said you…said you'd like to stay here for a bit?'

'Just to…get my bearings, you know,' Daniel replied, nodding. 'He's gonna…transfer me some money so I can…head on up to D.C. when I'm ready.'

There was a pause as Daisy looked at him. He was deliberately missing what she was trying to get at. She was confused, but she didn't in any way doubt him. She _knew_ him. She was sure of him and how he felt about her. It was rare for Daisy to ever feel so certain about someone.

'And…were you going to talk to _me_ about this or…?' she began, and Daniel looked at her apologetically. 'Only 'cause I thought-'

'I didn't want it to affect your decision,' Daniel said at once, leaning towards her, the lines on his forehead prominent as he gazed at her. 'You should do only whatever _you_ want to do.'

He sighed as Daisy tilted her head at him. He wished that he could make her understand without coming across as uncaring. Daisy was his only landmark, she always had been ever since he had been pulled out of 1955. It wasn't fair to put that responsibility on her, to put so much pressure on their relationship so soon into it. The last thing he wanted to do was be parted from her, but he also didn't want to become her shadow following her around everywhere without giving her the chance to be truly herself, to be free, and there didn't seem to be any middle-ground in the options that had been presented.

Daisy smiled softly at him. 'I know how you're feeling.'

'Do you?' Daniel said sceptically, his eyes on his lap.

'Yes. But you're not the only one who has nowhere to go,' Daisy said, and Daniel looked at her. 'I don't have anywhere to live or anyone to go home to. _This_ is my home. Here. In the Lighthouse, in the Zephyr, in the Quinjet, just…wherever these guys are. But now they're all leaving and it's over and…I don't know what it must have been like for you, when we pulled you out of '55 and just… _completely_ changed your life like that, but I…I think I can relate a little bit. I'm just as lost as you are right now. And so's Kora. But maybe we don't have to be if we…if we face it together.'

Daniel's lips parted as he gazed at her, stunned by her words, but Daisy didn't care if it was too much or too soon. She felt like she'd been dropped in a tunnel, and Daniel was her flashlight, helping her see the way out. Perhaps she could be the same for him.

'Daisy, I…I appreciate that so much, really. But you've done more than enough for me, y-you saved my life and…you shouldn't have to be stuck with me,' Daniel said, leaning forward and taking her hands in his own. 'I don't want this to affect _us_ …we've only just started and …we said we didn't want to take things too fast, and…I don't want you feeling responsible for me. I can figure it out on my own, and then we can still…we can still see each other and take things slow.'

'Daniel-'

'You've got a sister,' he interrupted her firmly. 'She wants to go to help build the Academy, she wants to train, she wants to know more about S.H.I.E.L.D., and I know you want to be there for her through that. You should…take some time with her. Get to know her. Be a family.'

Daisy gazed at him. Had it really not occurred to Daniel that she might want him to be part of that family?

'Oh, you gorgeous, noble, selfless dork,' Daisy said, smiling, and she squeezed his hands. 'Look, I don't know what Mack or Simmons or Coulson or whoever has told you about…about my past. But…you don't have to worry about scaring me off or anything. These past two weeks have been… _crazy_ , but…a good kind of crazy. Like, _really_ good. W-well, only the bits with you, obviously-'

'Yeah, I kinda got that.'

'Yeah, good,' Daisy said, and she smiled. 'I get what you're doing.'

'Do you?'

Daisy nodded slowly. 'Yeah, you're being gallant as always and trying to push me away, 'cause…for some _insane_ reason you think that's…I don't know, what I want? Or what might be best for me?' she said, a challenging expression on her face.

Daniel said nothing. His head was bent low, as if almost in shame.

Daisy sighed heavily. 'You don't…want me to feel like I have to look after you, just 'cause we were responsible for pulling you out of '55. You don't want to ruin this thing we've got going because it might get…I don't know, too intense or…it wouldn't be taking things slow enough and it would be scary for both of us – which, yeah, it probably would,' she said thoughtfully, and she raised her eyebrows at him. 'How am I doing so far?'

'Uh…pretty good, so far, I'll admit,' Daniel replied, a half-smile on his face as he nodded and forced himself to meet her gaze.

'Cool, I'll carry on,' she said smugly. 'You don't want me to feel like I _have_ to stay with you, or whatever. You want me to be able to…go on and live my own life and make my own choices.'

There was a silence as they both looked at each other. Daisy exhaled deeply as she stroked his fingers with her own. All this time she had been so certain that any life she would have after S.H.I.E.L.D. would be spent alone, and once she might have pretended that she was okay with that. But no more…not now she had met this man, this wonderful man who felt just as lost as she did. They were from two completely different worlds that never should have met, still practically strangers and yet it felt as if they had known each other for a long time, as if their separate worlds were already familiar and intertwined…and it made Daisy feel reborn.

She had been on her guard too long all these years, but now she had no reason to be. Right before her eyes was Daniel Sousa, and that was enough reason to finally let her walls come down, to let her heart dictate what she wanted.

'The thing is, I…I choose _you_ ,' Daisy said, her voice tremoring slightly on the last word as she gripped his hands tightly. 'And I know that sounds like a corny line from a _hideously_ cheesy rom com, but it's true, and…and it feels so good to say it.'

Daniel pulled an awkward face. 'I'm sorry, I don't know what 'rom com' means, but…go on,' he said, and she smirked back at him.

'Look, I'm just as scared as you are, probably even more. I don't know what the hell's gonna happen and where we're gonna go or what we're gonna do, but…I don't want to do it on my own,' Daisy said. 'I wanna give this a shot, with you. If-if that's what you want. But…I don't know, I've just been doing a load of talking, I-I don't know…it depends what you-'

But Daniel cut her short as he leapt from his chair, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her firmly on the lips. He pulled her up to her feet with him as she kissed him back, overcome with relief, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as they broke apart, a huge smile on her face.

'I'm not sure if…that was a good enough answer for you…' Daniel murmured, his hands moving to her waist.

'No, I think I got it. Yeah,' Daisy assured him, and they smiled as they held each other.

He cleared his throat nervously. 'I'm not sure about, well…pretty much anything…anymore, other than…how much I wanna be with you, Daisy. But I…I don't really know how…this sort of thing works in the 21st century.'

'This sort of thing being?' she prompted gently.

'W-well…relationships, courting…whatever you call it now.'

Daisy hesitated as she thought about it. 'Huh. I think people use dating apps now. So they…post pictures of themselves online, swipe right if they like the other person and left if they don't, then go on a few dates, and…then take it from there,' she explained.

'Dating apps,' Daniel said, his eyes wide and sceptical. 'That sounds…horrifying.'

'Mm-hmm. I know _we_ may be moving kind of fast – I mean, we already started living together, like, a couple of days after we first met – but at least we can avoid the whole…swiping thing,' Daisy pointed out.

'Thank God for that,' Daniel said, and they both chuckled. 'So, uh…what's the plan, then?'

'Well…I went to talk to Kora about half an hour ago. I asked if she wanted me to come with her and May, just for the first few weeks while she gets settled and sees…how she feels about things, but…she says she wants some time to…well, to get to know who she is by herself, without any family or…I mean, which I get,' Daisy said, nodding rapidly at Daniel as if trying desperately to convince herself that Kora's upcoming departure didn't bother her. 'She's never been independent before.'

'That makes sense. Good for her,' Daniel said, watching her carefully. 'And you'll…we'll still visit her, right?'

Daisy smiled at his correction. 'That's right. _We_ will,' she replied. 'And I'm gonna take some time as well. Just for a few weeks, before going to HQ and…starting again.'

'So…'

'I'm staying here with you,' Daisy said, and they both smiled as Daniel leaned in, his nose brushing against hers. 'Just for a bit, until I get sick of you.'

'Oh, obviously,' Daniel said, pressing his smiling lips to hers briefly. 'I want to do this right. Me and you. If we can.'

'Me too. And if that means…doing things 'properly', as you put it, and…going back to taking things…well, as slow as we _can_ , given the circumstances, and…holding off on…certain things until the moment's right, or whatever, then…well, let's do that,' Daisy said, and Daniel's eyes lit up hopefully.

'Yeah? Are you sure?' he said, smiling.

'Yeah, I am,' Daisy said, and it was such a thrill to say those words and know she meant them. 'Let's do this right.'

She truly wanted this to work, and not just as a whirlwind romance; she wanted to see if this could really last. On paper, it shouldn't – they had both been living in completely different worlds, almost seven decades apart – and yet they had become attached to each other in a way that seemed truly unbreakable in the span of two weeks. Daniel was so stable, so supportive, so willing, and so understanding and admiring of who Daisy was, and what she needed and wanted. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance that something in her personal life could go well for Daisy after all.

That night the remaining members of the team all gathered and raised a glass for one last time to say goodbye. They drank and reminisced and laughed and cried and hugged, and when Daisy and Daniel went to bed that night, Daniel knew that she didn't want to talk, so he just held her in her arms as she tried to sleep.

When the morning dawned bright and early, they all boarded the Zephyr for one last time and parked on land, just by the lake, so that they could drop May off at the car that she'd hired and bid farewell to each other there, with the view of the Lighthouse before them.

It was a blissful feeling as Daisy and Daniel stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air. It had been their first time outside during daylight since 1976 when they'd escaped the barn almost two weeks ago. It felt like months, no years, since they had felt the warmth of the sun on their skin and the light gentle breeze, and the smell of the salty sea air.

May and Kora were the first to leave; the car was already waiting for them, and May had spoken to Doctor Benson about where and when to meet. All that was left now was for them to say goodbye.

It was still a shock to Daisy every time May reached out to hug her, and this time was no exception. 'I'm so proud of you,' May murmured in Daisy's ear, and her voice tremored slightly.

Daisy hugged her back. She wished she could tell May that she wouldn't be the person she was today if it wasn't for her, regardless of her powers, but she knew that if she opened her mouth to say any of this she would start crying, and she couldn't do that. Not right now.

'Sousa,' May said, when she broke free of Daisy and turned to Daniel. 'Remember what I said.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows; he wouldn't forget his conversation with her in the Zephyr's cockpit that day last week in a hurry.

But May began to grin. 'I'm just kidding.'

'Uh, May, did you just say you were kidding?' Daisy said, looking at her in alarm and smiling. 'I didn't know you could do jokes.'

'Oh, shut up,' May said, and she held out her hand to Daniel. 'Take care of yourself, Agent Sousa.'

'Thank you, Agent May. And you,' Daniel said, shaking it. 'I look forward to coming to see the Academy.'

'I look forward to that too.'

As she went over to Mack, Yo-Yo, Flint, Piper, Davis and Coulson, Kora tentatively walked up to Daisy and Daniel. She said goodbye with her head bent low, her eyes darting awkwardly. She still felt guilty for all she had done, Daisy could tell, but she knew that would get better in time. She had been through that herself. And getting a head start to look around S.H.I.E.L.D., for May to show her the ways of the agency and build a programme for new recruits, would help immensely with that.

'We're gonna fly over in about a week or two, so…we'll come visit you then,' Daisy said, before giving her sister a quick, somewhat awkward, hug.

'Okay,' Kora said, breaking free, and Daniel could tell that deep down she was grateful. 'See you next week.'

They all turned; May had reached Coulson now, and they were hugging each other tightly. When May leaned away, she kissed him on the cheek, and turned quickly before Coulson could see the tears forming in her eyes.

It was this sight that made Daisy realise now more than ever that this truly was the end of an era. She had never liked change or endings. But, as Daisy watched May and Kora drive away, she realised that she shouldn't see it like that. She should see it as a new beginning instead.

After saying their goodbyes to Daisy and Daniel, Yo-Yo, Flint, Piper and Davis then headed back into the Zephyr to prepare for take-off, leaving just Mack and Coulson outside. Mack went up to Daniel first and hugged him as if they had been best friends for years.

'Keep in touch, you got that?' he said.

Daniel nodded. 'Yes, sir.'

Mack smirked at him and clapped him on the shoulder before moving over to Daisy, and he smiled warmly at her. Mack hadn't been surprised at all when Daisy had told him that she would be staying behind with Daniel and taking a few weeks out before resuming S.H.I.E.L.D. work; in fact, he'd encouraged it. She deserved a break. She deserved the world, and he knew that Daniel wanted to give it to her.

'Daisy,' was all he said, before she'd crushed herself against his chest; Mack hugged her back tightly, blinking away any tears that were threatening to form in his eyes. 'You'll be just fine.'

'I know,' Daisy whispered, before reluctantly letting go of him.

Saying goodbye to Coulson was the hardest. She wasn't sure why that was. She had said goodbye to him before, the real Coulson, days before he had passed away. That had nearly broken her completely. But to have him brought back in this form, only to then part ways with him just a few weeks later, was almost too much to bear. Coulson had been with her from the very beginning, he had introduced her to this new life of hers. And now it was almost over.

'Don't be a stranger,' Daisy said tearfully, as he stroked her back. 'Please call me and visit…and…everything, when you can.'

'I will,' Coulson said, as they broke apart from their hug. 'I promise.'

As Daisy walked away and looked out at the lake, breathing heavily and trying to pull herself together, Coulson then walked over to Daniel. He gripped his hand tightly and shook it, before pulling him in for a hug, to Daniel's surprise.

'Good luck, Agent Sousa,' Coulson said, once they'd broken apart. 'And…look after her.'

Daniel followed Coulson's gaze over to Daisy as she stood over by the cliff edge with her back to them. 'I will,' he vowed.

'I love her very much,' Coulson said.

There was a beat as Daniel looked at him.

'So do I.'

Daniel knew that the words must sound preposterous coming from a man who hadn't even known Daisy for two weeks to someone who had known her for seven years, but that didn't mean they weren't true.

Coulson nodded. It felt like his heart was swelling, but of course he knew it was just programming tricking him into believing that he could feel those emotions. But it felt more real than almost anything else he'd experienced since being activated.

'That's nice to hear, Agent Sousa,' he said, smiling as he nodded at him. 'Very nice.'

He cast his mind back then to the words he had spoken to Mack, what felt like so long ago now, on the day they had contemplated what to do about Sousa's demise on June 22nd 1955.

' _If Sousa lives, we don't know what impact that will have on the future.'_

Coulson smiled now as he watched Daniel go up to Daisy and put a comforting arm around her. She nuzzled into his shoulder and they turned and walked back towards the others together, ready at last. Exhaling deeply, Coulson met Daisy's gaze; they nodded reassuringly at each other, and then Coulson headed back to the Zephyr.

Mack hung back on the loading bay, waiting to press the button to close the Zephyr doors.

'You sure you don't want a ride?' Mack asked Daisy.

'I'm good,' Daisy said, looking at Daniel and smiling softly. 'I'm…I'm where I need to be.'

She never wanted to be without him. It was such a strange feeling. Jemma had told her about it, when she'd realised her true feelings for Fitz years ago. Daisy had just never thought that she would be lucky enough to experience the same sensation herself. She hadn't been looking for love at all when they'd met, and neither had Daniel. They had been dropped into each other's lives so unexpectedly, and it felt almost as if the universe and space-time had contrived together to make it happen. If it had, Daisy had no complaints. Nothing had felt more right.

Daisy took a deep breath and watched as the Zephyr then took off, carrying both old and new recruits to New York to carry on the S.H.I.E.L.D. legacy, one which Daisy knew that she and Daniel would also continue themselves as soon as they felt ready. A tear trickled down Daisy's cheek as she watched the aircraft, her old home, fly off into the distance, but then she met Daniel's gaze and smiled softly. They both turned and walked over to the edge of the cliff; Daniel took her hand and she squeezed it tightly as they looked out at the lake and the Lighthouse together, content with the knowledge that their next great adventure was each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this seems like quite a final chapter but there are still four more chapters (sort of like one big epilogue) to come before the end! Hope you enjoy :D thank you so much for still reading and your lovely comments :)


	28. An Ordinary Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during the one-year gap in Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
> 
> (Takes place during July-October)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next three chapters are going to cover the one-year break (interspersed with letters from Daniel to break up each section) and each chapter will span over approx. 3/4 months. The fourth (and final) chapter will cover the epilogue of 7x13! Hope you enjoy, thanks as always for reading and your lovely feedback :D

After they'd helped save the world, Daisy and Daniel knew that the best thing to do would be to slow right down, perhaps even go back to square one in some ways, and so that was exactly what they did. They stayed in the Lighthouse for about a week, just the two of them, where they spent some days simply lounging about watching TV (which enthralled Daniel) and listening to old comforting songs like 'Nice 'n' Easy' by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald's 'Someone to Watch Over Me' (at Daniel's request, obviously) and other days talking for hours on end simply to get to know each other better.

Daisy caught Daniel up on the many events – both the traumatic and the fun ones – that had transpired with the S.H.I.E.L.D. team these past few years, and also told him about her own troubled life before S.H.I.E.L.D., which Daniel listened to with fervent interest and sympathy.

'Mary Sue Poots? Really?' Daniel said sceptically as they lounged on the couch in the common room together, her legs spread over his lap. 'That's…that might be the worst part of that whole story.'

'Oh my God!' Daisy said, laughing and slapping his arm playfully as he chuckled.

'Good job you changed it to 'Skye', I like that,' Daniel said.

Unbidden, he was reminded of Jemma's words to him and Yo-Yo in the control room last week. _'The stars in your skies'_ , she'd said. He smiled at how appropriate that was. Daisy really _was_ the stars in his skies.

'Do you ever miss it?' Daniel asked her then, as she moved over to lean against his chest. 'Being Skye?'

Daisy knew he didn't just mean the name. 'Sometimes. But… _very_ rarely. She's still in me, and…well, I like who I am and…where I am now,' she replied, smiling at him as she looked up.

Daniel smiled back and kissed her briefly on the lips as he put his arm around her on the couch. 'I'm glad. 'Daisy' suits you better, as well,' he added light-heartedly, making her chuckle. 'Though nothing will beat 'Quake', of course.'

'You're never gonna let that go, are you?' Daisy said, smirking, as she rested her head against his chest.

'Never. That's a promise,' Daniel replied with a twitch of his lips, stroking her hair.

As the days went on, Daisy also began to teach him more of the ways the 21st century worked and what he had to expect for when they eventually headed out into society. This proved more difficult than she had anticipated; the new world Daniel had found himself in wasn't exactly a reassuring one.

'Oh, I just thought – who's President now?' Daniel asked her one evening, while they ate some food in front of the TV.

'Trust me, you don't want to go there,' Daisy replied, grimacing, and Daniel raised his eyebrows.

'O-kay.'

It wasn't just an educational period for Daniel, however; Daisy found out a great deal about Daniel and his old life too. He told her about his past…what it had been like growing up as a child in the Roaring Twenties, his troubling adolescence during the Great Depression, fighting in the war in his twenties, and then climbing up the ranks of the SSR and S.H.I.E.L.D.. Daisy found it completely fascinating to hear all his stories, and yet Daniel didn't seem to think that there was anything remarkable about his life. Daisy helped him see differently though, and he was grateful for that. He was grateful for everything about her.

They had fallen for each other hard and fast, and they both knew it, yet as they left the Lighthouse the following week and headed for New York, they still felt it was right to take things slow. Daisy wasn't sure why that was. Maybe it was because it was how Daniel had always done things, because he was a proper, polite gentleman. Maybe it was because Daisy was scared of something going wrong, of one of them becoming afraid or doubtful of committing when they hadn't really known each other long enough. And yet, even though their time together had been somewhat limited, it still felt like they knew each other incredibly well already, as if they had met each other years ago or known in each other in a different life. Perhaps that was all that mattered in the end.

Nevertheless, they didn't want to rush into things, so they agreed that Daisy should focus on herself first, and also her sister. After spending some time with May and Doctor Benson while they had begun forming their plans for the Academy, Kora had decided that she did want to sign up to train with S.H.I.E.L.D. after all, and Daisy wanted to be part of that however she could – without interfering too much in her new sister's life, anyway – but she wanted Daniel to be there as well. They decided to live close to each other, but not too close; Daniel still wanted to do things properly – their nights sharing a bed in the Lighthouse had never led to anything more than just sleeping (well, not _much_ more than that anyway) – and Daisy was so touched, and bemused, by his chivalrous attitude that she was more than happy to go along with it.

S.H.I.E.L.D. still had some old dorms in New York that the new recruits and trainees had been using as accommodation. Quite a lot of them were empty right now, so Daisy and Daniel rented two rooms separately just down the hall from each other, close to where Kora was staying for her training. Their new place of residence was ideally situated for starting work at the new S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ as well. Daisy began to spend some time with Kora and taking over her training whenever May was busy working on the Academy with Doctor Benson, and also met frequently with Mack at HQ to help form strategies on how best to rebuild the agency (with the occasional helpful phone call from Coulson to assist them with this).

Mack managed to use his role as Director to his full advantage and pull a few loops to get Daniel recruited to the new main S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters as an agent straightaway with full level clearance. Daniel was immensely grateful, and eager to help, however with Daisy's encouragement he also took some time out every other day to explore the city and the ways of the world, to help him ease into things and readjust to this overwhelming new environment. Daisy, already so attuned to what Daniel wanted, often left him to his own devices; he didn't want a babysitter to hold his hand the whole way through this transition, he just wanted someone to guide him in the right direction. So that was what she did.

Daisy taught Daniel about computers and the internet – or rather, she tried to. Daniel still couldn't fathom how incredible it all was. The world was at their fingertips…every source of information for anything was accessible…and it daunted him terribly. He didn't understand how these smartphones, something tiny enough to fit in your pocket, were far more powerful than the huge computers Daniel had seen back in his day, how they could contain all this knowledge and memory. One thing he could get quickly accustomed to, however, was the TV; he found it amazing, with its bright vibrant colours and high definition picture quality. Back in the fifties, his only entertainment had been listening to the radio, but this was just incredible, with endless TV shows that were cinematic masterpieces and thrilling blockbuster movies that left him open-mouthed and wide-eyed on the couch, with Daisy giggling at his reaction beside him.

On his free days, Daniel would often walk about the city simply just to watch people's lives go by and get used to this strange new norm. He noticed that people had a lot more tattoos than what he'd been used to, and it seemed to be perfectly ordinary for people to walk around with rings and piercings on their noses and eyebrows and tongues. It unnerved him slightly, but he was getting used to it. Hardly anyone smoked – or at least, not indoors – which was a nice change. There was little segregation, there were more women in senior roles, and people were more open about who they loved, regardless of gender. And yet there were other things that were less good than in his time, and some issues that he was surprised hadn't improved more in the decades that had passed.

But still, Daniel tried not to dwell on that; they had years ahead of them where the world could improve, and right now he wanted to live in the present – well, his new present, anyway.

'I wanna take you out on a date,' Daniel said to Daisy firmly one evening, as they left HQ together. 'I mean, I want to take you on many, many dates. But, basically…Daisy, would you like to go out to dinner with me?'

Daisy smiled at him. 'Daniel Sousa, are you saying you want to 'court' me?' she asked, raising her eyebrows.

'Hey, I'm not _that_ old, all right?' he said defensively, chuckling. 'But yes. Essentially.'

'I'd love to go to dinner with you,' Daisy replied, taking his hand. 'But you should prepare yourself. The prices won't be what you've been used to. But hey, you never know, some restaurants give senior citizens 10% discount-'

He interrupted her by tickling her waist, making Daisy yelp out and run from him; he chased after her, laughing, and grabbed her by the arm before bringing her beaming lips to his and wrapping her in his warm embrace right there, outside the steps to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters building.

Daniel still wasn't used to being so physically affectionate around her, particularly in public, but Mack had assured him that it was perfectly normal, that all couples did it and no one looked twice, and as the weeks had gone by Daniel had found him to be correct. Nevertheless, he didn't like to be presumptuous and he kept reminding himself that they were trying to take things slow, so it often ended up being Daisy who initiated physical contact when they were out and about. She knew that he didn't want to pressure her into moving to the next level or making a display of their romance or put a label on it, which she greatly appreciated, but she liked to hold hands with him as they walked together. It made her feel closer to him, it made her relaxed, it made her feel like she was home. Which, of course, she was.

So, over the course of the next few weeks Daniel took Daisy out on quite a few dates, either for just drinks in a bar or a nice meal somewhere. Sometimes Daisy tried to find diners similar to what he would have been used to in the fifties, to make it easier for him, which Daniel very much appreciated, but then to surprise her he would book a table at some fancy bistro or independent little restaurant that Mack had recommended to him. He tried not to be too horrified by the price of the food, or to be too difficult or confused about Daisy insisting that they split the tab at the end, and at the end of every date he would take her hand, escort her home like a proper gentleman, kiss her outside her dormitory door and then leave for his room just down the hallway, never presuming to come into her room.

But then one night, about a month after they had first moved to New York, Daniel _did_ come into her room. And in that moment 'taking things slow' was put to the back of both their minds completely as they spent the night together.

Daniel knew that he would never forget how he paused by the door before closing it, intending to leave…but then he looked up and saw that look in Daisy's eyes on her devastatingly beautiful face as she gazed at him from the centre of her room, and he had no choice but to enter the room and close the door behind them.

Daisy knew that she would never forget the way Daniel slowly, tantalisingly approached her, how his hands snaked their way up her arms to eventually cup her face before kissing her lips tenderly. When he broke apart from her, he murmured her name like a prayer, and Daisy smiled and shushed him before kissing him back and leading him gently towards her bed.

A surging tide of warmth flooded through them both as they embraced and savoured this wonderful moment. Daniel slid his hands beneath her clothes to caress her skin and he removed her top and jeans ever so slowly while planting soft, tender kisses on her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids, her neck. It had been so long since a man had touched her like this. It sent shivers that made Daisy's whole body tremble. Her fingers fumbled as she unbuttoned his shirt, so much that she started accidentally releasing shockwaves from her fingertips. Chuckling, Daniel clasped her hands in his own and kissed them to calm her nerves as she laughed softly, before bringing her parted lips back to his as he shrugged out of his shirt. As he deepened the kiss, Daisy stroked her hands against his bare chest, pulling him closer, not wanting to leave an inch between them. He hesitated for only a moment before removing his prosthetic leg, knowing that it didn't matter. None of it mattered, other than Daisy.

They lay down on the bed and her body melted against his, and it felt like there was nothing else in the world, like there was only him and her, like anything else before they had been together had been wrong. It was a feeling both of them had never felt with anyone else, but were so sure of with each other. It was a feeling neither of them would ever forget. It was a feeling that told them: _this is it, this is real, this is home_.

When Daniel woke up the next morning, he was met with the glorious sight of Daisy lying beside him, her head resting on the pillow, her wavy hair flowing out either side of her mesmerizing face, her eyes already open and gazing at him as if she had woken from a dream, or couldn't quite process the fact that he was lying there with her.

Daniel smiled at her drowsily. 'Morning,' he murmured.

'Morning,' she whispered, smiling back as she stroked his cheek; Daniel sighed in content at her gentle touch.

'What is it?' he asked, wondering why she was looking at him like that, as if in a complete daze.

'Nothing, I just…'

'What?'

Daisy smiled. 'I can't believe I'm waking up next to you.'

'W-well…we _did_ share a bunk in the Lighthouse for a while-'

'You know what I mean,' Daisy interrupted, poking his bare chest beneath the covers, and Daniel smirked.

'I know. I can't believe it either,' he murmured, moving a strand of hair out of Daisy's face. 'Last night was…'

'Pretty amazing, right?' Daisy said, smiling, as she leaned closer to him.

'It really was,' Daniel agreed, looking delighted and relieved that she had said it.

Daisy pressed her lips softly to his, and leaned away only ever so slightly as she looked at him, her forehead against his on the pillow. 'It was worth the wait.'

'Yeah?' Daniel said, as he stroked her bare arm.

'Mm-hmm. Thanks for…wanting us to hold off and, y'know, saying we should take it slow, like the wonderful square you are,' Daisy said fondly. 'Not many guys are like that.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'Do you _still_ think I'm a square?' he said playfully, as he leaned above her, and Daisy laughed as he kissed her.

From that night on, Daniel never went back to his own S.H.I.E.L.D. dorm.

The weeks passed and they continued to learn about each other and appreciate even more the wonderful person who had fallen into their lives. They spent more time with Kora as well when she was taking a break from her training and studying alongside Flint with May, and it was a relief to see that Kora was slowly but surely beginning to come out of her shell. Daisy suspected that it was the S.H.I.E.L.D. counsellor who was helping greatly with this; both Daisy and Kora were receiving counselling separately – they both needed it after all they had been through, and Daniel had been extremely supportive and encouraging in this venture. To Daisy's pleasant surprise, Daniel and Kora seemed to get on rather well, though she wasn't sure if they were just making an extra effort for her sake.

Daniel also began to resume his old hobby of drawing as time went on. It was a skill he had picked up back in the forties while he had been recuperating after his injury, and had been the only thing for a time that had forced him to get out of bed in the morning. Now it wasn't a form of escapism, but more of comfort. He drew sketches of what he could remember of the Zephyr, of the Lighthouse, of the view of the planet from space, and of Daisy. Kora found his sketchbook one day while she was visiting Daisy and was deeply impressed; Daisy, on the other hand, burst out laughing when she saw his drawing of her.

'You've made me look way too pretty,' she protested, leaning up against him.

'No, I really haven't. It's how I see you,' Daniel said softly, gazing at her, and Daisy then threw herself at him, her lips hungry on his as he entangled his hands in her hair, and the sketchbook fell to the floor.

Aside from the occasional text and phone call, and a few friendly visits from Piper and Davis at HQ, they didn't hear from the others much; Yo-Yo was already busy with her assignments out in the field, Coulson was taking a highly-deserved rest from all things S.H.I.E.L.D.-related, May was tied up with the opening of the Academy, and Mack was becoming increasingly snowed under with preparations for the new headquarters and official relaunch of the agency. Daisy and Daniel did manage to keep in touch with Jemma and Fitz quite a bit though, and even managed a video call with them on Fitz's birthday in August. Daniel was still in awe that technology had come so far to allow them to speak via video from different countries, and he was delighted; he missed Jemma, and had become very attached to little Alya in that week they'd spent with her at the Lighthouse. Most of their group call was taken up with Alya enthusing about something called _Harry Potter_ , while Jemma and Fitz smiled at her proudly, and when they left the call Daisy explained the worldwide phenomenon to him.

'A little wizard boy. Really?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows sceptically.

'Hey. If you want to understand society and basic culture, then y-you just need to watch them all. And read the books,' Daisy said, and Daniel smirked.

'You sound like Fitzsimmons.'

Daisy laughed softly. 'You would too after seven years of living with the nerd herd, it rubs off on you.'

She took him out shopping to buy the _Harry Potter_ books and also some more clothes the next day, and in their search around the department stores, Daniel was disappointed to find out that sweater vests didn't seem to be a popular item of clothing anymore. However, Daisy helped him choose a ton of nice-fitting shirts and T-shirts, and then when they went back to her dorm she showed him how to shop online. Daniel was absolutely in awe that you could order something to be delivered for free the next day directly to your front door and track it.

When his first purchase arrived, Daisy's eyes widened in horror.

'So that's really what you wanted. Out of everything you could get online, anything that could have been your very _first_ online purchase and delivery, you went with…that,' she said, eyeing him sceptically as she tried not to laugh.

Daniel eyed his new Hawaiian shirt in the mirror; he didn't think it looked _that_ bad. 'Nostalgia reasons, only. I went through a little phase back with SSR in L.A. Is it not working for you?' he asked, lips twitching.

'Nothing beats the blue shirt, Dan, just accept it,' Daisy said, grinning, and she took his hand as they left the dorm and headed outside to go to HQ.

She knew he looked silly in his Hawaiian shirt and that people – particularly Mack – would eye him strangely the moment he entered the building, but she didn't care. As long as he enjoyed it, that was all that mattered.

The two of them walked down the road towards work hand-in-hand – HQ was only a twenty-minute walk from the block of S.H.I.E.L.D. dorms – and as they went Daisy was hit once again with the dazed realisation of just how lucky she was to be completely head over heels for this man. He was constant and kind, he made her laugh every day, and he complimented her in a way that completely caught her off guard. Daniel Sousa was the best thing that had happened to her in a very, _very_ long time.

As they laughed together and Daniel put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head while they walked on, it came to Daisy's mind that any passers-by would think that they were a couple – as in, a _proper_ couple, in love and together and serious about each other. And that was when Daisy realised that that was what they were. And she couldn't have been happier.

*****

_Dear Agent May,_

_I know it would make more sense for me to send you an electronic mail from my computer at HQ, but to be honest I still don't really understand how it works. Letters are easy and familiar, and Daisy agrees that I should keep these small comforts from my old life._

_I hope you are well. I know you are very busy with your plans for the new Academy at the moment, and also with training new potential recruits. I haven't spent much time with Kora myself since Daisy and I moved to New York, but Daisy says you are making good progress with Kora. I know Daisy really appreciates the time and effort you are spending with her. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know; I know Kora has had a rough time of it lately, to put it lightly, and that she is also out of her time, so I can relate to a little of what she must be going through._

_Things are ~~peachy~~ very nice here in our new S.H.I.E.L.D. accommodation – I'd love to know where the budget comes from to enable the agency to rent out entire blocks of buildings for staff, but Mack has advised me not to ask too many questions about that. Daisy and I have settled into a new routine quite quickly, and we seem to be working regular hours like normal folk, which is very strange. Could this be what some people might call 'ordinary life'? In our spare time, Daisy has been telling me so many stories of all your missions together, from your very early days on 'the Bus' when Coulson had first formed your extraordinary team. I wish I had known you all back then._

_The other evening, Daisy took me to the movie theatre, and it was truly extraordinary. It was so much different from what I was used to back in the day; the experience was so immersive that I almost believed we were in the movie. The special effects were incredible, although when you have been up there actually in space seeing it all for yourself, it doesn't really compare, does it? I realise you probably have no interest in hearing any of this, but I find it hard to stop myself when I get going. The main thing that I want you to know is that Daisy is recovering well, she's enjoying slowly easing back into things with S.H.I.E.L.D., and she and I are very happy. I'll always keep an eye out for her and will be in touch straight away if ever I think Daisy needs you. I know she wishes she could see you more often, but she understands that the Academy is an important project that is taking up a great deal of your time._

_I would be fascinated to know more about the Academy, and I look forward to when it opens – Daisy and Mack say you're aiming for sometime around next spring? Back in my day as Chief I often enjoyed talking to any new trainees and recruits, so if there's any way I can help, please do feel free to contact me._

_Please know that I am not expecting a reply to this, by the way (I gather that letters are very much a thing of the past, and Daisy has also warned me that you are generally not a fan of correspondence) but I just wanted to check in. I hope the new powers are becoming easier as time goes on. I think it's remarkable what you can do, but Daisy has told me all about how challenging it is to accommodate such a significant change like that on your own. We are both here for you if you ever need someone to talk to._

_I hope to see you sometime soon, even if it's only briefly at HQ!_

_Best wishes,_

_Agent Sousa_

*****

When September came, Daniel took on more full-time work at the new S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with Mack, providing vital assistance in the rebuilding of the agency. He took on the identity of a made-up descendent of his long-lost cousin (which Daisy helped easily fake on the system's records). The story was that he was Daniel Sousa, named after his legendary ancestor who had been the first fallen agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1955, and he had been an operative undergoing top secret missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. and had only just returned from working undercover for the past number of years. Only those who had top level clearance at S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about his true identity and the time-travelling escapades of Director Mack's original core team. Rumours spread, of course, but not many agents or trainees believed them. Mack knew that some other agents believed Daniel's false identity to be a silly precaution – after all, the whole world knew about Captain America and aliens and superheroes – but the truth was, he didn't want it to be common knowledge that S.H.I.E.L.D. had developed the technology to travel through time just yet; they had enough on their plate without planning for the potentially disastrous ramifications of that.

Daisy, meanwhile, carried on developing her Secret Warriors initiative that she had started a few years ago; with help from some other agents, she tracked down more Inhumans in need of help, and offered them her own guidance, and access to the mental health services provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. to help them adjust to their powers and come to terms with their new identity, something she had plenty of experience with. She also helped those who were interested – and who could be a key asset – to get into the new Academy's training programme, and liaised quite frequently with May (and also Flint) on this. Mack and May often said encouragingly to Daisy that Coulson had passed the baton down to her; she was finding people and helping them, just as he had done for her at the very beginning.

One day, after meeting up to discuss potential new Inhuman recruits at a coffee bar near the new Academy building that was currently being refurbished in preparation for the opening, Daisy and May took some time to chat about non-work-related things, and also to have a quick video call with Jemma to wish her a happy birthday. Once they'd said goodbye to Jemma, Daisy and May then began to discuss the promising improvement of Kora's mental state and high potential as a field agent, until May brought up the subject of Daniel.

'I received a letter from Agent Sousa a few days ago,' May said, her lips twitching slightly.

'Oh, yeah. He does that, he's started writing to everyone,' Daisy said, grinning fondly to herself. 'I don't have the heart to tell him not to bother.'

To Daisy's astonishment, May chuckled. 'And why should you? It's sweet. So…how are things going with you two?' she asked, watching Daisy carefully.

Daisy hesitated and her lips parted awkwardly as she tried to find the right words to say without bragging and also without jinxing it. 'Oh well…you know…they're going,' she said, trying to sound casual. 'We're living separately though, obviously, y'know…taking things slow and all that.'

'Why?' May asked after a moment.

'What?'

May was looking at her curiously, as if confused. 'Why are you…living apart and…taking things slow?'

Daisy stared at her wordlessly for a moment, slightly taken aback; she hadn't been expecting that response. 'W-well we…we wanna be sensible, y'know, we don't wanna rush into…' She trailed off and shook her head, bemused. 'It just…it makes sense. To take things slow. Right?'

'I don't think so. For some people, maybe, but not for you two,' May said gently, and she smiled at Daisy. 'I know how he feels for you. And I know what you feel when you're around him. I felt it in our last week together at the Lighthouse, and I can only imagine how much it must have grown since then. Don't make the same mistake I did.'

A crease appeared on Daisy's forehead as she gazed at her, bewildered. 'May, what do you…?'

May sighed sadly. 'Coulson and I loved each other, but we left it too late, and…he died. We wasted so much time. We could have had years together, if we'd just said how we felt and done what we wanted. But…we were too scared, I guess.'

Daisy tilted her head at her sympathetically and reached out to put her hand on May's; May gripped her hand back gratefully. 'I'm still not used to this…you talking about feelings,' Daisy murmured. 'You're like our group therapist now.'

May rolled her eyes. 'I know. Believe me, I'm not used to it either. But if I can use this to help in any way, then…well, I'm starting to like it,' she said, and she squeezed Daisy's hand. 'You're sure about him, I know you are. If it feels right, Daisy, don't waste any time.'

That evening, when Daisy returned to her dorm to find Daniel already there waiting for her with a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers he'd bought for no particular reason, just because he'd wanted to, she crossed the room and kissed him passionately, flinging her arms around his neck. Daniel dropped the flowers and box of chocolates at once as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Eventually, Daniel leaned away and smiled softly at her. 'Hello.'

'Hello,' Daisy said, smiling back as he kept his arms around her and swayed her gently.

'What was that for?' he asked.

'I just…' Daisy trailed off, lost in his eyes and in sheer joy that he was simply here with her, before remembering what May had said earlier over coffee today, and then it hit her. 'Hey, do you wanna…rent somewhere to live?'

'Well…we already are.'

'I mean, somewhere proper. Like, an apartment, not any S.H.I.E.L.D. accommodation. Together,' Daisy said firmly.

Daniel's parted lips were smiling as he gazed at her in wonder, that same bemused, enchanted look on his face that he'd worn when they'd first met in his office at Area 51. 'Daisy, are you asking if I wanna move in with you?'

'Y-yes. Yes, I am. I want us to live together,' Daisy said, stroking his hair as she leant her other hand on his shoulder. 'Screw 'taking things slow'.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows. 'What a scandalous proposition.'

'Oh, c'mon, don't be a square,' she said, smirking. 'I mean, you're already basically living in this dorm, when was the last time you slept over at your place? Besides, I know what you're thinking but don't worry, boyfriends and girlfriends live together all the time in this century, you don't need to be married or whatever. It's no big deal. Honestly.'

There was a small pause, and Daniel cleared his throat. 'So…I'm your boyfriend then?' he asked, a smile playing on the edge of his lips.

'Wh-well I didn't mean…' Daisy swallowed nervously; she could feel herself blushing as she met his gaze. 'W-we don't need to put a label on it, sorry, I…'

'Daisy, you misunderstand,' Daniel said, chuckling softly as he pressed his lips briefly to her forehead. 'I'd _like_ to be your boyfriend. And you my girlfriend. If that's what you want as well.'

Daisy smiled, relieved. 'It is.'

'Piper did ask when we'd be, uh, I think she used the term 'Facebook official',' Daniel said, bemused, and Daisy tilted her head at him.

'You've literally _never_ used your Facebook account since I made you one last month.'

'W-well I can try and learn,' Daniel said indignantly.

Daisy eyed him sceptically. 'You really sure you want someone known as 'Quake' to be your girlfriend?'

'I think I can handle it,' Daniel said, smiling warmly as he tightened his hold around her waist. 'And what about you? Are you sure you wanna live with a square like me?'

Daisy paused in mock thought. 'Pretty sure, yeah. If you're up for it.'

'Then let's do it,' Daniel said, after a moment's pause, and Daisy's face lit up.

'Yeah?'

'Yeah, let's move in together,' Daniel said, and he brought her smiling lips back to his.

They found a place a few weeks later, and put down a deposit, and to celebrate they went out shopping together and bought a set of curtains for their new apartment. It seemed like such a small, trivial thing, and yet it meant so much to Daisy. She had never bought curtains with anyone. She had never even bought curtains for herself.

A month later, they moved in. Within a week, they were settled and it felt like their time at the S.H.I.E.L.D. block of dorms was a thing from years ago. The apartment was small and charming, light and open, and decorated with various items of Daisy's that reminded her of the Zephyr and the Lighthouse, and with other décor of Daniel's choosing that, according to Kora, looked very much like it belonged in an antique store.

Every day they woke up and got breakfast together, then Daniel would head over to HQ while Daisy would travel to meet the next Inhuman on her list. Then, at the end of their working day, they would both return to their apartment and Daniel would greet her with a tender kiss and dorky smile and would ask all about her day while he cooked their dinner – Daisy had never learnt how to cook properly – and then they would sit down on the couch and watch TV together before retiring to bed.

' _Do you think you'd like it? Ordinary life?'_ Daniel had once asked her, back in the Lighthouse.

_Yes. Yes, I do_ , Daisy realised.

She had never experienced anything remotely similar to domestic life before; she'd just assumed it wasn't something meant for her. But this was different. This was nice.

It wasn't long after they had moved into their new apartment together when they first said those three important words, words that Daisy had never thought she would ever say to anyone or hear said to her. It was a perfectly ordinary day, with nothing particularly exciting or special going on at HQ, and yet Daisy knew this day would stick out vividly in her memory as something monumental and tremendous for the rest of her life.

It was Daniel's day off, and Daisy was just on her way to head out to work after clearing away their breakfast.

'I'll see you tonight, babe,' she said, leaning over Daniel's shoulder to steal a kiss from him as he read the newspaper at the kitchen table.

Daniel glanced up briefly at her as he kissed her again, this time on the cheek. 'Yeah, have a good day. Love you.'

Daisy had almost reached the door when she froze and slowly turned around, her brain having only just processed what had slipped out of his mouth. She slowly turned back around to face Daniel, who was continuing to read his newspaper obliviously.

'Uh – sorry, what, now?'

Daniel looked up from his newspaper. He was confused at first, but then he saw her raised eyebrows, the way she was trying to hide a smile as she slowly approached, looking at him pointedly. And then he felt his cheeks go red as he realised what he'd just said.

'Wh-what?' he said innocently.

Her eyebrows shot up her forehead even more. 'What did you just say?'

'I…' Daniel sighed in defeat and smiled exasperatedly at her. 'Aren't you gonna be late for work?'

'I don't care,' Daisy replied, a hint of a smirk on her face.

She picked up the nearest chair from the other side of the table and dragged it over to him, just as she had done so long ago now in the Zephyr's equipment room during the time loops, when she'd demanded to know why he was always helping her. Daniel smiled as he put the newspaper down on the table, amused by the way she was looking at him so expectantly, waiting eagerly for him to speak.

He cleared his throat. 'Daisy, I…these past few months with you have been…' He trailed off with a dazed smile, unable to find the words, but Daisy understood what he meant completely.

'I know,' she said softly. 'They really have, haven't they?'

Daniel smiled back at her. 'Look, I…I don't know how this is going to come out at all, so you'll just have to bear with me while I…fumble a little bit,' he said apologetically.

Daisy chuckled, her eyes feeling rather watery all of a sudden. 'It's okay.'

Daniel nodded slowly and reached out to take Daisy's hands in her lap; he cupped them gently with his own, lacing their fingers together. 'After things ended with Peggy, I…I thought that was it for me. It took me years to stop feeling that way about her and move on. I wasn't even…remotely interested in looking for something else afterwards. Never. My job was my life, S.H.I.E.L.D. was…all that was important to me. And then…you appeared out of nowhere in my office,' he said, his gaze and smile so tender and loving that it nearly took Daisy's breath away. 'I didn't believe you were from the C.I.A. for one second, but I still trusted you. I knew you were the good guys, even when you shut me in that cell.'

'In my defence, that was Coulson,' Daisy interjected, 'and we were on a clock-'

'Daisy,' Daniel said, 'I'm trying to tell you that I love you.'

Daisy's lips parted and there was a stunned silence.

Daniel smiled. 'You are…without a doubt, the most wonderful person I've ever met, and I'm…I'm so in love with you, Daisy. I think I have been since you first went in that damn healing chamber,' he said, as he held her hands and squeezed them. 'I wanted to tell you before. I should have told you that day, before you went after Kora and killed Malick. I guess I was scared that it was moving too fast, or…I was being too much or something, and it would make you run the other way.'

Daisy looked down at their intertwined hands when she next spoke. 'Did you really think I'd do that?' she said softly. 'You couldn't tell even then that I loved you too?'

'You…you did?' Daniel murmured, his voice cracking slightly as his eyes lit up.

'I did. I do,' Daisy said, bringing her gaze back up to meet his. 'I love you. So, so much.'

She exhaled deeply, relieved and delighted and feeling like she might burst either into song or tears, she couldn't quite tell which. It was such a big moment for her to say those words, to put them out there, and Daniel knew that.

Daniel looked as if he might cry as well. 'Oh, Dais, me too,' he said, and he leaned forward and took her in his arms, holding her close as they sat there together and smiled, burying their faces in each other's shoulder.

Daisy kept thinking back to that moment, their hug on those kitchen chairs in their own little apartment, throughout the day at HQ, until eventually it was no use and she asked if she could leave early for the day that afternoon. Luckily, Yo-Yo had just come back from a field mission with Piper and so was on-hand to take over the remaining interviews with the two Inhumans they'd asked to come in today.

Eager to get straight back home to the man she loved, Daisy caught the bus and then frantically ran the rest of the way to their apartment. She burst inside to find that Daniel had baked scones, and was looking immensely proud of himself for having successfully worked the modern kitchen appliances. He was wearing one of his new black T-shirts that fit his chest snugly and his new pair of reading glasses so that he could follow the recipe book (he still refused to read anything online on Daisy's tablet). 'Your Love For Me' by Frank Sinatra was playing through the speakers; Daniel must have worked out how to set up the playlist of old songs Daisy had created for him.

Daisy was overwhelmed as Daniel held out the baking tray towards her, delightedly asking what she was doing home so early; she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his hips as she kissed him enthusiastically, nearly knocking him off balance and almost causing him to drop the tray of scones on the floor. Daniel carefully put the tray down on the counter before wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her back, and carried her over to the kitchen countertop.

'You are so cute!' Daisy said, laughing softly, and he stumbled slightly on his prosthetic as he kissed her again, chuckling against her lips. 'Oh, sorry, how's your leg?'

'Uh…not so great, it got blown off a few years back,' Daniel replied, pulling a face at her.

Daisy stared at him for a moment, then rested her forehead against his exasperatedly, and they both began to chuckle. As they laughed together, wrapped in each other's arms against their kitchen counter in their apartment next to a tray of scones he had baked for her, Daniel was stunned briefly with the realisation that this was his life – no, _their_ life – now. And it was absolutely wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering, yes, that photo of Enver Gjokaj baking scones for the AoS crew was what inspired that last little segment haha! Also just to mention I'm uncomfortable/not good at all with writing explicit love scenes so sorry that there was no smut for the love scene in this chapter. I prefer to leave things like that more to the imagination just because of my writing style, but I hope it was ok! Next chapter should be up in 2/3 days :)


	29. Christmas at the Fitzsimmons'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during the one-year gap in Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D  
> (Takes place during November-February)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning – this one’s a SERIOUSLY long chapter (I don’t know how it happened, I just got in the zone). Hope you enjoy!

_Dear ~~Agent Rodriguez~~ Yo-Yo,_

_How are you? We haven’t seen you for a while, I gather you’ve been very busy away on your missions. I envy you; I haven’t got back into the field yet myself (at least not for combat) but I’m itching to get going. Once I’ve completed my psych-test, I will be cleared to get back out there. Mack is confident I’ll pass – apparently it’s just a formality, given my rather unusual situation, which makes sense. I think the HR staff (at least, those in the know of who I really am) are expecting me to break down at any point, but I seem to have surprised them so far._

_I very much enjoyed the moving picture you sent us the other day – Daisy said it’s called a ‘gif’? – it made me laugh a lot. Mack’s probably already told you, but Daisy and I have moved into a very nice ~~pad~~ apartment. Agent Piper and Agent Davis mentioned at HQ the other day that they were thinking of dropping by to see it, so tag along if you can, it would be good to see you! I like Piper and Davis, they seem like a fun pair, and fine agents to join your new team. I’m sure the three of you together will do an excellent job out there on the hunt for all the 0-8-4s still out there to be found._

_I have made some progress getting through to Kora, which is quite an accomplishment. She has been struggling lately, which is understandable, but opened up to me recently about being thrown into a life in the future – she says I’m the only one she knows who can truly empathise with what she’s going through. She doesn’t express it very well, but I can tell she’s extremely relieved that Daisy is based nearby. I believe they’re coming to truly see each other as sisters now, the more time they spend together, which is nice to see._

_Daisy has recently converted me into a fan of ‘Hamilton’ – I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, it’s a musical about the founding fathers. We have been listening to the soundtrack non-stop, and I’m not even ashamed to admit it. I don’t really understand half the music, but what a masterpiece! Daisy keeps singing the songs around our apartment, just because she knows they get easily stuck in my head. I pretend that it annoys me, just because it makes her laugh, but I don’t mind really. It’s a joy to see her sing and dance. I would highly recommend anyway, it’s worth a listen if you’re ever bored on your flights to the many locations you’re no doubt visiting._

_Take care out there anyway and hope to see you soon. ~~Don’t worry about Mack, I’m keeping him entertained while you’re away.~~ My apologies, that was badly phrased – what I’m trying to say is, Mack misses you whenever you go away on your missions, so I distract him with my ‘Tales from the Man out of Time’ series (his words, not mine). He is very proud of how well you are doing, and it’s a joy to see how happy he gets whenever you are about to return to HQ._

_Stay safe, and hope to see you soon._

_Best wishes,_

_Agent Sousa_

*****

As winter approached, Daisy and Daniel (now both cleared to resume combat missions out in the field) were both able to spend more time with Mack at the new S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, for which they were grateful; now that he had made significant improvements to the agency, he was planning to depart with a team of his own on a new helicarrier he’d commissioned to be ready for spring in the new year. He would be gone for months at a time on his new missions taking him all across the world as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s representative. Daisy wondered how he and Yo-Yo would cope, being apart from each other for such a long time, but they had been through so much together that Daisy was confident that a long-distance relationship would work.

Daisy spent as much time as she could with Mack whenever they were in HQ or out on the same job together, to make the most of her time working directly with him while he was still in New York. Unlike the others in the team, Mack was the one who had stayed around, the one she was still able to see frequently. Daisy wasn’t sure how she would cope when he eventually left on his travels.

One day when they’d just returned to HQ from a successful mission, Daisy and Mack decided to reward themselves by taking a lunch break for once. Mack raised his eyebrows, a fond smile on her face, as he watched Daisy get out her packed lunch; he knew that Daniel often made her a packed lunch if she ever had a job out in the field, as Daisy was always too busy or distracted to think about planning meals in advance.

‘So,’ he began slowly. ‘I gather things are going well with you and Sousa.’

‘Huh?’

He was glancing pointedly at her neck, where Daisy knew her love bite was still visible, and she blushed as he smirked at her. She thought back to how she’d tried concealing the mark with make-up this morning, how Daniel had crept up from the side and hugged her from behind, and they’d both looked at their reflections in the mirror as they held each other and giggled and thought how perfect everything was in that moment.

Daisy recovered her expression as she tucked into her sandwich. ‘Th-they’re going, yeah,’ she replied, trying to sound casual.

‘Ah, I see,’ Mack said, a knowing look in his eyes. ‘Still enjoying your new apartment?’

‘We are, it’s…it’s great. I’ve never had…an apartment or anything before,’ Daisy said. ‘The last home I had outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. was my van so, uh, it’s definitely an improvement.’

‘And what’s it like, living with a guy from ’55?’ Mack said, amused.

‘Surprisingly not as challenging as you might think. He…he just takes everything in his stride. Still freaking out about technology, but, y’know, can’t really blame him for that,’ Daisy said, smiling fondly.

Mack chuckled. ‘Well that’s why I gave him more people-focussed duties and less, y’know…sitting down at a desk and freaking out about how to open his emails.’

‘Okay, be fair, he’s getting better,’ Daisy said defensively. ‘But yeah, he’s more suited to the…interviews, investigative work, diplomatic relations…all that jazz.’

Mack nodded in agreement. ‘He’d make a good S.H.I.E.L.D. ambassador.’

‘You should tell him that,’ Daisy said, smiling, but then her face fell. ‘Wait, that doesn’t mean you’re gonna send him away, are you?’

‘No, it doesn’t. And I’m pretty sure he’d refuse if I tried anyway,’ Mack said warmly. ‘No kind of assignment could tempt him anywhere far away from you.’

Daisy smiled. ‘That’s very true.’

There was a silence as they both continued to eat their lunch. Mack gazed across the table at Daisy and smiled.

‘I’m so happy for you, Daisy,’ he said. ‘For both of you.’

Daisy looked at him. ‘Thank you,’ she said, and she smiled as well. ‘Me too.’

That afternoon Daisy headed over to the Academy building. It hadn’t officially opened for business yet, but some of the new trainees were already there, with Flint as their adorably enthusiastic wingman, and Daisy had convinced May to let her be Kora’s SO, just as May had once been for her. Kora wasn’t ready yet for full combat or any missions, but Daisy could tell there was promise and that Kora would be a highly capable agent once she had learned everything she needed to know. More importantly for now, however, Daisy used these visits and training sessions simply to try and bond with her sister. With each passing week she could notice a slight difference in Kora; she would smile more, or initiate conversation about non-S.H.I.E.L.D. related topics, or even suggest meeting up for coffee or food outside of training or work hours, and it meant everything to Daisy just to see her getting better and opening up and trying.

When she got back home that evening, she found Daniel already in the apartment; he’d been covering for Yo-Yo while she’d been out on another mission today and accompanied Piper and Davis to help them track down an 0-8-4, and it was a relief to see him looking so well and sprightly. Indeed, he looked almost giddy as she greeted him and kissed him. He had Frank Sinatra playing _again_ ; today it was ‘You Make Me Feel So Young’. He had become obsessed with Sinatra ever since Daisy had shown him a playlist on Spotify containing all his best hits from the forties all the way through to the seventies.

‘Did you have a good day?’ Daisy asked, as she put down her keys and removed her jacket.

‘Hm-hm. Very enjoyable,’ Daniel said, suppressing a grin. ‘I met the Koenigs this morning.’

‘Oh, really?’ Daisy said in pleasant surprise; it had been too long since she’d seen the Koenig family…well, aside from their ancestor back in 1931.

‘Yeah, they were dealing with the 0-8-4.’

‘That’s cool, how are they?’ she asked.

‘Good. They’re fun. But…there are…so _many_ of them,’ Daniel said, and Daisy grinned at him amusedly. ‘ _How_ are there so many?’

‘I…I don’t know, it’s always freaked me out a little bit,’ she admitted, smirking.

‘They were very pleased to hear that…I’m living with you,’ Daniel said. ‘They really think you’re the ginchiest.’

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Ginchy-what?’

‘Err…never mind. They think you’re, uh, ‘cool’, I think that was the word they used. They…were _very_ enthusiastic,’ he said, his lips twitching, and Daisy rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

‘I can imagine.’

‘Yeah. They…recommended some stuff to read, actually,’ Daniel said, walking over to the kitchen table, where her laptop was propped open. ‘Sort of research, you know. Made for _very_ interesting reading.’

Daisy frowned at him suspiciously. ‘What kind of research?’ she asked slowly.

Daniel looked at her innocently as he tried not to smile. ‘Something called ‘fanfiction’…?’

‘No. No, no, no,’ Daisy said, her eyes widening in horror, as she slowly approached him by the laptop. ‘Are you serious?!’

‘Mm-hmm. Apparently ‘shipping’ is a word more commonly used now for something completely different from what I thought,’ he said, tapping away at the laptop to show her what he’d found as Daisy tried furiously not to return his smirk. ‘It was very confusing at first, but I think I got the hang of it when I read a few of the best-reviewed ones…Quake and Black Widow – the Koenigs’ favourite, apparently – Quake and Thor, Quake and Captain America – that one stung a little bit, not gonna lie-’

But he was cut short as Daisy launched herself at him, mortified, and in her desperation to shut the laptop she ended up sending him toppling onto the chair, and he dragged her with him.

‘No! No, put them away!’ Daisy protested, as they both laughed and she closed the laptop firmly while she settled on his lap.

Daniel had the most incredible laugh. It made her feel so warm and fuzzy inside whenever he laughed. A silence fell as they both gazed at each other, grinning, and Daisy leaned in and kissed him tenderly, wrapping her arms around his neck as Frank Sinatra crooned away in the background.

When they broke apart, she sighed. ‘Daniel.’

‘Yes, honey?’ Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her cheekily.

‘Don’t _ever_ read Quake fanfiction again,’ she said.

Daniel groaned. ‘Do I have to promise that?’

Daisy smiled as she shook her head wearily at him. ‘I’d say yes but…your eyes are doing that puppy-dog thing, and also they _are_ kind of funny to read, so what the hell,’ she said, rolling her eyes.

‘So _you’ve_ read some of them as well?’ Daniel said amusedly, his face lighting up in delight.

‘Worst mistake of my life. I was curious for a moment and I regretted it forever,’ Daisy said, and Daniel laughed and tickled her before bringing her lips back to his and suddenly the Quake fanfiction was momentarily put to the back of their minds.

*****

In early December, they were all invited to spend the Christmas holiday with the Fitzsimmons family at their new cottage in Perthshire, Scotland. Only Mack and Yo-Yo couldn’t make it; they were spending Christmas with Mack’s brother, Ruben, and Flint instead, but to Daisy’s delight everyone else accepted the invitation, including Coulson, and, perhaps most surprisingly, even Kora.

Daniel was very excited to go to the U.K., and to explore the sights of Scotland. Unfortunately, it wasn’t snowing when they arrived as they had hoped, but the landscapes of the Highlands were still astonishingly beautiful. The mountains and the lakes made it almost feel as if they had been plunged into a magical watercolour painting. Daisy was so pleased that Jemma and Fitz had found their dream home, and that Alya was lucky enough to live in such a wonderful place after the first few years of her life being stuck on an aircraft out in distant space.

It was so lovely to be reunited with Jemma and Fitz and catch up – and to see Coulson, after so long apart – but in particular to spend time with Alya as well. Even May joined in as they all played with Alya’s toy moneys and fish, and when Daniel began to help Alya draw a picture of a constellation with her crayons and paints, everyone simply gathered around and watched them both in silence with huge smiles on their faces, and bizarrely Daisy felt rather broody and full of longing. Their first evening together, Alya insisted that they all watch an animated movie called _Coco_ , which was currently her favourite; Daniel didn’t know what to expect as they all gathered around the TV, but by the end as the end credits were rolling, there were tears on both his and Daisy’s cheeks.

‘That’s the best movie I’ve ever seen,’ he murmured, and he and Daisy both laughed as they wiped their eyes.

The next day, the adults spent most of their time catching up with each other while Alya watched more TV by herself, surrounded by her entourage of toy monkeys. Jemma and Fitz really wanted to get Alya into _Doctor Who_ , but were forced to recognise that she was too young for that just yet and would have to wait a few more years until she was ready to embrace their favourite TV series, and she seemed content enough with Disney movies for now anyway.

‘She’s onto _Tangled_ now, another classic,’ Fitz said fondly to Daniel, as he came back from checking on her and sat down with Daniel at the dining room table. ‘So, uh…how are you finding it working at HQ, anyway? Must still be quite…overwhelming getting used to everything, after what you were used to in ’55.’

‘Well, it was at first but…it’s actually great,’ Daniel replied, smiling, ‘and with Daisy there with me most days, she’s so patient and helpful and…it’s just…y’know, I’m made in the shade.’

Fitz stared at him, confused. ‘Sorry, what?’

‘Made in the shade? No?’ Daniel said, raising his eyebrows, and Fitz laughed; Mack had warned him over the phone that Daniel still frequently used strange words and phrases. ‘It means…well…that life couldn’t be better.’

‘Good,’ Fitz said, smiling. ‘I’m really glad they went ahead and stopped you from dying in 1955.’

‘Me too,’ Daniel said, nodding, and they both chuckled.

Over in the next room, May and Coulson were talking together in a corner by the fireplace, suspiciously close to the mistletoe that Jemma had hung from the ceiling to complete their Christmas decorations a few hours ago. Not too far away from them, Jemma, Daisy and Kora were sat together on the couches, catching each other up on their lives. Kora had been feeling rather awkward and out-of-place since they’d got here, but Daisy and Daniel had encouraged her to join in with their games and movies and chats, and Jemma, Fitz and Alya had been extremely welcoming, which had helped make things easier for Kora.

Daisy was telling Jemma about having a break from the hard-core action out in the field; her assignments with the Secret Warriors team were now more people-based as she tracked down Inhumans, so she didn’t really need to use her powers that much.

‘That must be strange,’ Jemma said, intrigued. ‘Do you miss it? Using your powers?’

‘Oh, she still uses them sometimes,’ Kora interjected playfully, wiggling her eyebrows. ‘Daniel’s quite a fan of Quake, isn’t he, Daisy?’

Jemma looked completely nonplussed as Daisy flushed red and looked round at Kora furiously, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead, as she slapped her sister’s arm.

‘What do you mean…oh. _Oh_! My goodness,’ Jemma said, startled, smiling. ‘I see. And you still think Agent Sousa’s a square, Daisy?’

‘Enough with the ‘Agent Sousa’ already, and _no_ , I do not,’ Daisy said, still blushing, and she squinted her eyes at her sister. ‘Thanks, Kora. That was meant to be a secret.’

But Kora and Jemma were laughing, which only grew when Daniel then entered the room, looking innocent and confused in his adorable Christmas jumper. While Kora went over to speak to him, Jemma raised her eyebrows at Daisy.

‘You and Kora seem to be getting on well,’ she noted.

‘You think?’ Daisy said hopefully.

‘Well…if you’re talking to her about your sex life with Agent-’

‘Daniel,’ Daisy corrected her, smirking, ‘and…yeah, I guess…we’ve got sorta close. She’s really opened up more, this past month or so.’

‘I’m glad,’ Jemma said warmly. ‘I know she didn’t believe she deserved a second chance but…well, she seems to have changed her mind now and…it’s wonderful.’

‘It is. It really is,’ Daisy agreed.

‘Almost as wonderful as you and Agen- sorry, Daniel.’

Daisy rolled her eyes, smiling. ‘Oh, stop.’

‘I’m serious! You’re _such_ a lovely couple, you really are,’ Jemma gushed. ‘Just seeing you two together, it’s just…it’s like it was meant to be. I know you don’t believe in that stuff, but…’

‘I don’t what I believe anymore,’ Daisy said, sighing deeply as she looked over at Daniel while he chatted to Kora, and she smiled at Jemma. ‘I found my own Fitz.’

‘Yes, you did.’

‘Only, like, he’s _so_ different from Fitz, thank God-’

‘Hey! What do you mean, ‘thank God’?’ Jemma said in mock outrage.

‘I’m kidding, I’m only kidding!’ Daisy assured her, laughing.

They all exchanged presents on Christmas morning a few days later, with Christmas songs playing through the speakers and the luscious smell of a turkey cooking in the oven, and it felt like a fairy-tale or a scene from a movie, like something that wasn’t happening in their real life because Christmas just wasn’t something they had celebrated for so very long. It was utterly strange and at the same time completely wonderful.

For Christmas, Daniel had got Daisy tickets to see the musical _Hamilton_ at Broadway. She wasn’t sure how the hell he’d managed it, but apparently Mack had helped in this endeavour, and it took about ten minutes for her excited squealing to calm down. Her presents to him seemed rather feeble in comparison. She’d got him some old-fashioned sweater vests, because she remembered him saying how much he’d missed them, another sketchbook to draw in, tickets to see _La La Land_ with a live orchestra at an outdoor movie theatre, and a turntable and a bunch of old records from the forties and fifties so that he could listen to old, familiar music. He seemed thrilled by these though, so she supposed she’d done rather well, considering it was the first time in her life that she’d ever had to buy a boyfriend a present.

For Alya, amongst the many other presents they’d bought, Daniel and Daisy had brought back the toy monkey she had given them back in July at the Lighthouse, this time with a blanket for it, embroidered with various lyrics from one of Daisy’s favourite songs from _Hamilton_ called ‘Dear Theodosia’. Adding the lyrics had been Daniel’s idea. Alya was thrilled with this, but not quite so thrilled as when Jemma and Fitz revealed that they’d made Alya her own little pair of gauntlets so that she could be like ‘Aunty Daisy’. Just hearing Alya call her that made Daisy overcome with emotion, and she spent most of the day using her powers to lift Alya into the air slightly, which made her giggle and squeal happily.

They ate their Christmas lunch extremely late on in the day – after a few disasters with the oven and the turkey, requiring Daniel to dive in and save the day with the vegetables and gravy – and afterwards they all collapsed in the living room, too full to do anything else. After Alya had reluctantly gone to bed, they all watched a movie called _Love Actually_ , at Jemma’s suggestion; it was a British Christmas classic apparently. Fitz swore and groaned the whole way through, making both Daisy, Daniel and Coulson practically roll around in fits of laughter; Fitz’s exasperated, and at time nauseated, reactions were funnier than the movie itself.

Looking a little stunned after the rather cheesy movie had ended, Daniel headed to bed early; he kissed Daisy goodnight and went upstairs, and Fitz watched him go wistfully as he stood beside Daisy.

‘I still can’t believe I missed all that,’ he said.

‘Missed what?’ Daisy asked.

‘You and Sousa. Jemma told me all about it, like, how it happened exactly,’ Fitz said, and Daisy smiled. ‘You guys fell in love with each other in, what, less than ten days? Quite extraordinary really, when you think about it.’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Daisy murmured. ‘It felt like the most…ordinary, natural thing in the world in some ways.’

Fitz looked at her warmly. ‘And you’re happy?’

‘I am,’ Daisy replied, smiling. ‘I really am.’

‘Well that’s the best thing to come out of all this, then,’ Fitz said, putting an arm around her. ‘You went through enough bullshit these past few years.’

‘So did you, Fitz,’ Daisy pointed out, raising her eyebrows at him.

Fitz nodded heavily. ‘We all did.’

‘But, you know what…we had some great times as well. Some amazing times. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,’ Daisy said, feeling her eyes begin to water slightly, and Fitz smiled back at her.

‘Me neither.’

That was when Jemma approached them both, and she and Fitz asked Daisy if she would like to be Alya’s godmother (along with Mack, as her godfather). It was the most wonderful Christmas present anyone could have given her, and Daisy knew that she would remember this day vividly as the best Christmas of her life.

*****

On New Year’s Eve, about an hour after the countdown and the fireworks and the joyful cheering and celebrations, Daisy came into Fitzsimmons’ living room to find that everyone else had gone up to bed, and only Daniel was left up. He was using his new turntable to try out the ‘Best of Frank Sinatra’ record she’d bought him; he still loved discovering all the new songs Sinatra had made since 1955.

‘Hey,’ Daniel said softly, as she walked up to him, and he indicated the turntable. ‘I like this one.’

Daisy smiled; the song playing at the moment was ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’. ‘I think it’s one of his most popular ones. Though, I’m not sure, I…I guess I wasn’t really much of a Sinatra gal until you came along,’ she said, her lips twitching.

‘Y’know, it…I’ve just realised, I haven’t danced since my leg was blown off,’ Daniel said, looking slightly dazed, and he shook his head sadly.

‘I’ve never danced at all.’

Daniel looked shocked. ‘Wh-what? Never? How come?’ he asked.

‘W-well…people don’t really do ‘dancing’ now,’ Daisy replied. ‘It’s more, kind of, jumping up and down on the spot in nightclubs, or…whatever.’

‘Oh dear,’ Daniel said. ‘Well we need to fix that then, don’t we?’

As he spoke he reached for Daisy’s hand; she took it, an intrigued smile on her face, and he pulled her close to him, putting his other hand on her waist as they began to sway gently in time to the music.

‘Ooh, so smooth,’ Daisy said, chuckling, as she leant her head briefly against his chest.

‘Eh, I’m not so sure about that,’ Daniel said, smirking, ‘apple butter has never been a particular talent of mine.’

Daisy didn’t need to ask anything; she just stared at him with a confused frown as they continued to sway on the living room floor.

‘Uh…yeah, I realise how weird that sounds if you’ve never heard it before…’ Daniel said awkwardly, ‘…it means, uh, flattery. Smooth talk.’

‘Wow. ‘Apple butter’,’ Daisy said, and she laughed. ‘The fifties were so weird.’

‘I know, I know,’ Daniel agreed, smiling.

‘But also kinda nice. People don’t do this anymore, and they should,’ Daisy said.

‘They really should,’ Daniel said, and he twirled her around before pulling her close to him and kissing her tenderly on the lips and smiling at her. ‘Happy New Year, Daisy.’

‘Happy New Year, Daniel,’ Daisy said, smiling back, and she rested her head against his chest, blissfully content, as they continued to dance.

*****

_Dear Agent Coulson (Daisy insists I call you ‘A.C.’ but I’m not sure if we’re quite there yet),_

_Thank you for your last letter. I very much enjoyed the photographs of the old SSR department and materials; please do send any more archives you have my way if you come across any more! It made me very nostalgic._

_I am writing this from the aeroplane as Daisy and I fly back home to New York. We were very happy that you and Agent May decided to stay in the U.K. for a little bit longer; May certainly deserves a break from her work starting up the Academy. By the time you read this, you will be home, so I hope you enjoyed your extended trip. I know Daisy is pleased to see that you and May have found chance to reconnect (please be assured that I don’t mean that in Deke’s sense of the word)._

_We didn’t get chance to speak that much just the two of us back at The Fitzsimmons Cottage (as Daisy likes to call it), hence my writing you this letter now, but I hope you had a nice time over Christmas and New Year. You said yourself you had been working your way through a sort of ‘existential crisis’, and Agent Davis has spoken to me a little about how confusing he has been finding the L.M.D. experience, but I know I cannot fully understand myself. Daisy is often concerned about you and it makes her ever so happy when you get in touch, even when just to say a quick hello. You should stop by more at HQ or our apartment if you can, but of course, I know you’re trying to take a break from S.H.I.E.L.D. life (when possible, though I can imagine it must be hard)._

_Daisy and Mack say I’ve readjusted to 21 st-century life remarkably well. However, there are still often things that crop up and completely throw me. Take this for example: earlier on our flight, just a couple of hours ago, Daisy and I thought we’d watch a popular British comedy out of the many shows and movies available for the journey (I’m still having a hard time processing that it’s apparently normal for there to be television sets in the back of people’s headrests on planes now, but that’s a matter for another day). It’s called ‘Fleabag’, I’m not sure if you have seen it or heard of it? Anyway, out of all the many shows and clips and movies Daisy has introduced to me over the past few months, this definitely stunned me the most. It was really one that hit me hard with the realisation that I was no longer in 1955 anymore. I’m not sure whether Daisy was laughing more at the show itself or my shocked expression. We have paused it after just the first two episodes so I can recover. Daisy’s amazed that I made it that far in (apparently I still haven’t managed to convince her that I’m no longer a square – I must admit, she’s probably right)._

_As you no doubt saw in Perthshire, Daisy is doing extremely well, even more so now that Kora is coming out of her shell. She’s still very much missing the old days with your team though – she tries to hide it sometimes, but I can read her well. I think she misses you most of all. She tells me you have always been a father to her, L.M.D. or otherwise, and have been a constant figure of support and guidance these past seven years of her life. Thank you very much for that._

_I am also very grateful that you are so supportive and, dare I say it, encouraging of mine and Daisy’s relationship. Your approval means a great deal. No doubt you’ll be hearing from me much more frequently ~~if~~ when I want to ask you officially for your blessing!_

_Anyway, I must sign off now as the flight attendants are about to come along with the food, and Daisy and I are considerably hungry!_

_All the best, and please do keep in touch._

_~~Agent~~ Daniel_

*****

Daisy began to take on more assignments at S.H.I.E.L.D. when they returned to New York. Mack was tied up with final preparations for the helicarrier, and they were low on agents until the new recruits completed their training and qualifications, so Daisy was left in charge of a number of cases. She enjoyed it greatly, but it was tiring, and it meant that she and Daniel struggled to find a decent amount of time to spend together, particularly when her shifts started to fall during irregular hours. Nevertheless, they tried whenever they could, and one day Daisy happened to have a free one-hour slot at work, which she used to show Daniel something she felt he should have been shown months ago.

The Wall of Valor had been destroyed at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first Academy during the HYDRA uprising, however Mack had had it rebuilt in the new headquarters.

‘What am I looking at?’ Daniel asked curiously, and Daisy pointed out his name, there on the top row:

**Agent D. Sousa**

There he was, Daniel Sousa, the first fallen agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Daisy could vividly remember the first time she’d seen the Wall of Valor, all those years ago when the Bus team had accompanied Fitz and Simmons on their nostalgic visit to the old Academy, how she’d looked at all those names in awe and respect. She could remember seeing Daniel’s name. She remembered asking about him that day, and how Jemma had gushed about the highly admired, brave, selfless former partner of Peggy Carter who had climbed up the ranks of SSR, despite the prejudices and pity that shadowed him because of his disability, and become Chief. Daisy had been so young then when she’d first heard about him. She’d had no idea who he would become to her.

One of the more recent names on the Wall was Peggy Carter’s, and Daisy had brought along Peggy’s files to show Daniel while they sat there together on the bench beside the Wall. The files told him all about her: her career, her life, her family, everything. It had all turned out so extraordinary well for her. She’d gone on to achieve many more extraordinary things with S.H.I.E.L.D. and had had a happy life with Steve Rogers, who had passed on the Captain America name to someone else and found a way to travel back in time, to continue the life he’d always wanted to have.

‘He went back for her,’ he breathed, happy.

‘He did,’ Daisy said, smiling.

She knew that if it had been them, but roles reversed, with Daniel left behind in the fifties or eighties in whichever timeline, Daisy would have come back for him, just as Steve Rogers had done for Peggy. Even if it had meant never returning to her real time. She knew that now.

Daniel was in awe as he read the files. Coulson had told him before all about Captain America surviving the plane crash in 1943 and being discovered in the ice in 2011, but it was only just hitting Daniel now that Steve Rogers was – probably – the only man who had experienced what he himself had been going through since last summer; to go from one time to the other. He wondered how well Rogers had adjusted. He wished that he’d written down a guide, but it made sense that Rogers wouldn’t have thought to write out his top tips on how best to acclimatize to a different time period.

He was overwhelmingly pleased that Peggy had got her happy ending. He’d just never thought that he would too. He smiled lovingly at Daisy as she then began to read out the highly generous, emotional tribute that Peggy had written for Daniel after his ‘death’ in 1955.

Daisy smiled at him with tears in her eyes once she’d finished reading. ‘See? She thought the world of you. Everyone did,’ she murmured, kissing him on the cheek.

Daniel exhaled rather shakily as he gazed back at her, overwhelmingly grateful.

_‘Give it up. No girl’s going to trade in a red, white and blue shield for an aluminium crutch.’_

It was strange for Daniel to think back to those words of his former SSR-colleague now and realise that he was somehow in a loving, committed relationship with a woman who had more powers than the legendary Captain America.

Daisy worked late into the night that day on a new assignment that had just come in. Daniel came to pick her up in the antique car Mack had recently acquired for them. He was glad that he had decided to park at the back of the parking lot, for not long after Daisy had joined him in the car they had begun to kiss passionately and ended up falling into the back-seat of the car, their hands all over each other.

‘I never thought you’d be one for back-seat bingo,’ Daniel said in-between kisses as she slid her shirt off her shoulders.

Daisy paused, looking bemused. ‘Back-seat…wh-what?!’

‘Uh…nothing,’ Daniel said, his expression freezing. ‘That’s not a thing. It’s nothing.’

‘Daniel!’ Daisy said incredulously, laughing, as she shook his arms playfully while she sat on his lap. ‘Back-seat bingo, _really_? That was a thing in your time?’

‘W-well there were drive-ins, things happened…’ Daniel explained awkwardly, ‘it was a saying used quite a lot…not that I ever-’

‘So you never, uh, partook?’ Daisy interrupted him playfully, pressing her lips to his as she stroked the side of his neck.

‘N-no. Never.’

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him, smirking. He glanced back at her with an innocent expression and a slight curve at one end of his lips. He was wearing a dark burgundy shirt today with rolled-up sleeves, the top few buttons undone, his collar open. He was hard to resist when he looked like that.

Daisy shook her head at him wearily. ‘You’re such a bad liar. I love you so much,’ she said, and she leaned in to kiss him enthusiastically before breaking off all too soon, laughing hysterically at how ridiculous ‘back-seat bingo’ sounded.

It was about a month after that day when Daisy and Daniel had their first proper argument. They had bickered before – over what to watch, how much money was appropriate to spend on various things, Daisy being on her phone too much, Daniel being too old-fashioned insisting that he pay for absolutely everything and acting awkward if Daisy insisted she pay for a meal or movie ticket for once – but this was something different.

It was one of Daisy’s rare days off from both the field and HQ – a mission had been cancelled last minute – and she had just found out that Daniel was going to see Mack to watch the match and have a beer.

‘Oh. So it’s, like, guys’ night but just…all day, I’m guessing,’ Daisy was saying, frowning slightly as she hovered in the kitchen.

‘Uh, I’m not sure, I don’t really know what Mack’s thinking,’ Daniel replied, putting on his jacket, ‘but it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other so…’

‘Well it’s been a while since _we’ve_ seen each other as well. I mean, properly,’ Daisy pointed out, and Daniel halted in his tracks. ‘We haven’t really had a full day to ourselves since, what, the Christmas holidays? That’s nearly two months.’

‘I-I know, but…’ Daniel said, and he sighed heavily. ‘Look, Daisy, if I’d known you’d be off work today then obviously I would have rescheduled with Mack, but I don’t wanna be rude and cancel last minute…’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Daisy said, shaking her head as she turned away. ‘Go. Have fun.’

Daniel looked at her, confused. Then he crossed over to the other side of the room and lifted the needle off his turntable, where it had been playing Frank Sinatra’s ‘In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning’. The sudden silence in the room made Daisy look up at him, and her face fell slightly.

‘Daisy…can we talk about this?’ Daniel asked.

Daisy shrugged. ‘What’s there to talk about?’

‘I-I mean, I don’t really understand why you’re so annoyed when _you’re_ the one that’s been taking on extra assignments and working overtime,’ he said, and Daisy wondered if the sharp tone in his voice was real or just something she was imagining.

‘Yeah, because Mack asked me to help out more until the new recruits have finished their training,’ Daisy said slowly, frowning.

‘I know, but he didn’t ask you to take on every single case. You just took it all on yourself, because that’s what you do,’ Daniel said, and despite the fond, proud look on his face, Daisy could only focus on the negativity of his words. ‘You’re working too much and too hard.’

Daisy’s lips parted as she floundered, trying to think of how best to respond. ‘Well if that’s what you really think, then why don’t you call Mack and see if you guys can do something another time?’ she suggested. ‘This is the first day off we’ve had together in-’

‘Daisy, I know,’ Daniel interrupted apologetically, the look in his eyes indignant, ‘but I can’t just…look, I have friends as well now! I have places I wanna go, people I wanna see, and I can’t keep dropping them the moment your plans change!’

‘That’s…that’s not what I…I never meant for you to think I just…’ Daisy swallowed slightly, at a complete loss; she hadn’t been expecting him to say that. ‘Dan, I know your life isn’t solely about me. I know you’re working things out and it’s been hard, but you’ve been doing so well and-’

‘You don’t need to do that, it’s…’

Daniel broke off and exhaled deeply, clasping a hand to his head. He wasn’t expressing himself clearly, he knew that, but he just didn’t know the right way to put it into words.

‘Look, I get it, S.H.I.E.L.D. comes first,’ he said, and Daisy’s mouth fell open in protest, ‘and that’s fine, I understand, but I’m just saying…I need to be able to do other things as well, even when work doesn’t need you. I love you, Dais, God knows I love you with everything in me, but I-I’m still figuring out my own life here in this time-’

‘And you need space from me sometimes, yeah, I get it,’ Daisy muttered, folding her arms.

Daniel sighed heavily. ‘That’s not what I…ugh, this is all coming out wrong…I just mean…I don’t want to be a let-down if you come back home from work earlier than planned or you have a day off and I’m not always here, that’s all,’ he said. ‘I’m a bit of a disappointing back-up if I’ve got other plans with work or my social life – not that I’ve got much of a social life, let’s be honest, but still-’

‘A back-up?’

Daisy’s voice shook slightly, but not with sadness anymore, with rage. _‘I get it, S.H.I.E.L.D. comes first,’_ he’d said. She understood perfectly what Daniel meant by that; he was thinking that she was turning into Peggy Carter, that their relationship was just going to be a repeat of what had happened with him and Peggy in the end. The thought made her furious.

She took a step forward to him, breathing heavily. ‘Do you think I love the job more, is that it? You think S.H.I.E.L.D. is more important to me than this, than us? Well you’re wrong. I love _you_ more, Daniel, _you’re_ what’s important,’ Daisy said loudly, her forehead creased with anger. ‘I’m taking on more cases with S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment as a favour to Mack because he’s our friend. But as soon as we get those new recruits to take on the workload then I’m resuming normal hours, because…f-for the first time ever I’m enjoying my home life somehow even more than my work life, and that’s saying a hell of a lot, and it’s because of you!’

Daniel stared at her, stunned. He didn’t know what to think or say. All he knew was that he’d been a fool and upset her and he hated himself for it.

‘And you’re wrong, I don’t expect you to be at my beck and call 24/7,’ Daisy said, shaking her head desperately at him. ‘I’m sorry if it’s come across that way but that is the _last_ thing I want, I know you’ve got your own life outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. and outside of me, and I’d hate for you to feel tied to me in anyway, and this is exactly what I was afraid of-’

‘No,’ Daniel interrupted at once, stepping towards her, ‘no, no, Daisy, you’re wrong, I don’t feel tied at all, I didn’t mean-’

But Daisy backed away. ‘No, it’s fine, I…look, I’m gonna…I’m gonna go see Kora, I might stay away over at her dorm tonight,’ she said, grabbing her leather jacket. ‘We were gonna have, like, a sister sleepover at some point anyway-’

‘N-no, Daisy,’ Daniel said, his voice breaking, ‘please, don’t go-’

‘It’s fine, honestly,’ Daisy said, already heading towards the door as she tried to clear her head. ‘I…look, have a good time with Mack today, yeah? I’m…I’m sorry.’

And with that she hurried out of the apartment, leaving Daniel stood there looking guilt-ridden.

Although Kora still had her bad days, things with her and Daisy had been improving immensely, particularly ever since their stay over at the Fitzsimmons’ cottage during Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so thankfully Kora let Daisy into her dorm without hesitation the moment Daisy showed up knocking agitatedly on the door. She listened patiently while Daisy told her what had happened, and once she had finished her story, Kora went to fetch some chocolate in an attempt to cheer her up.

‘Ugh, I knew this would happen. I mess everything up,’ Daisy went on, furious with herself, as she munched away at her chocolate bar. ‘I can’t _believe_ this, all those years I was fine without him, and now I’ve got too attached and too…needy, and now he’s fed up and annoyed with me and-’

‘Daisy, that is _not_ what is happening here,’ Kora insisted, ‘you’re taking it way out of proportion.’

‘Am I?’ Daisy asked. ‘I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been in a proper relationship before, I don’t know how the hell this works. We’ve never had a fight before, not like this.’

‘And that’s a miracle. It’s insane that you’ve been together this long and only just had your first argument,’ Kora pointed out. ‘And…it’s been pretty intense. You guys got together after, what, two weeks? You started living together after two months?’

‘Three,’ Daisy mumbled.

‘Okay, still not exactly ‘taking things slow’,’ Kora said, raising her eyebrows. ‘It was only a matter of time before…well, this happened.’

Daisy looked at her warily, the chocolate bar in her hand forgotten about. ‘This?’

Kora smiled. ‘The next phase of any romantic relationship.’

‘Well that sounds scary,’ Daisy said, her eyes widening slightly.

‘It’s a good thing. Not that I’d know, the most experience I have is with the bastard that killed our mom,’ Kora said, and she sighed heavily. ‘I think Daniel was trying to just…point out that he’s worried about you working too much – which, just saying, I think you might be – but also that he’s…well…that he’s ready to start being independent in the 21st century.’

Daisy glanced up at Kora from her chocolate bar, and Kora could see the panic she was trying to conceal in her eyes.

‘Don’t look so scared, I don’t mean that…he wants to leave you or anything. Daniel loves you…more than anything,’ Kora said earnestly. ‘And I mean that literally – you mean the world to that guy. He told me so himself, like, the other week when we bumped into each other at the gym.’

‘He did?’ Daisy said, a hopeful smile forming on her face.

‘Yes.’

‘That’s a pretty deep conversation for the gym.’

‘I know, I’ve no idea how we got there. But, my point is…I think he just wants to be able to make his own plans, make his own friends, go to new places, and…well, be his own person from time to time,’ Kora said reasonably.

‘Like you.’

‘Yeah, exactly.’

Daisy considered her words for a moment, then sighed, annoyed with herself. She’d been so wrapped up in her and Daniel’s relationship that she’d barely stopped to think about Daniel making time for himself, and he was so selfless that he’d never once mentioned it until today.

‘I’ve never really…God, I just feel so stupid now, I…I’ve just got used to…well, whenever I come back home, he’s always there, at the apartment, or at work waiting for me, or…just wherever, because he knows I don’t like being alone,’ she said in a small voice. ‘He’s always been there for me.’

‘And he always will be,’ Kora said firmly. ‘You _know_ that.’

Daisy smiled. Yes, she did know that. There was nothing in the world that she was surer of than Daniel’s love for her.

A few hours later, Daisy’s cell phone rang. She felt a huge flood of relief as she answered it and heard his voice.

‘Daisy-’

‘Hey. Dan, I…I’m so sorry-’

‘No, _I’m_ so sorry,’ Daniel said at once. ‘I…look, Daisy, the things you said earlier…they were wrong, and it’s my fault you thought them and said them and I…I’m sorry. You said I’ve got my own life outside of all this, but I don’t, and I don’t want one. _You_ are my life. I just have…other elements to that life, like…a beer with our friend Mack occasionally-’

Daisy laughed softly. ‘I know that. I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to be annoyed today…like you said, you didn’t know it was gonna be my day off, and you shouldn’t have to cancel your plans for me, particularly when it was so last minute. We don’t have to spend all our free time together, I know that. Look, babe, I-I overreacted yesterday ’cause, uh, my period’s due, so I just…I’m a bit all over the place.’

‘Ahh, I see.’

Daisy had mentioned her menstrual cycle only a few times over the course of their relationship, but Daniel had never once flinched or protested in disgust like most men she knew would at the mere mention of it. He was sympathetic and understanding – which was saying something, particularly when he came from a time when such a topic of conversation had been ten times more taboo than it was nowadays.

But Daisy knew then that she didn’t want to depend on such an excuse. She needed to be honest with him.

‘Also, uh…’ – she swallowed nervously and tried again – ‘I guess, I’m just…a little scared.’

‘About what?’ Daniel asked gently.

‘What this means for us,’ Daisy replied. ‘Kora says we might be at…‘the next phase’.’

‘Mm-hmm. Well I think she might be right.’ He sounded like he was smiling.

‘H-how do you feel about that?’ Daisy asked tentatively.

There was a slight hesitation at the other end of the line. ‘Honest? I feel pretty excited about it,’ Daniel replied, and there was no doubt about it; he was definitely smiling.

Daisy inhaled shakily. ‘Really?’ she said, smiling as well.

‘Yeah, really.’

She pressed her lips together, overcome with joy and relief. ‘Look, I, uh…I’d better go, me and Kora are having a takeout and movie night, so I’ll stay over here, but…are you free tomorrow evening?’

‘Of course. How about I book us somewhere to eat?’ Daniel suggested. ‘Your favourite bistro?’

‘Okay, that sounds perfect,’ Daisy said, beaming, as she clutched her cell phone close to her ear. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you, too.’

Daniel reserved a table at the bistro the moment they ended their phone call, but then the next day Daisy’s field mission ran later than she thought it would. She was forced to stay at HQ on standby, most likely for the rest of the night, in case of any developments. She felt terrible as she phoned Daniel to tell him the bad news.

‘Dan, I’m so sorry,’ Daisy said sadly.

‘It’s okay, I’ll just cancel the reservation, and we’ll…sort it out for another time,’ Daniel said, sighing. ‘I’ll see you when you get back.’

The moment he’d ended the call, Daisy cursed under her breath and kicked the wall angrily. She left the other agents in her team to mope about in her office while they waited to hear of any developments from their fellow operative.

It was about half an hour later when she heard a tap on her office door.

Daisy sighed wearily. ‘Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood for talking and I haven’t heard anything yet-’

But then she froze as she looked up. It was Daniel, stood in the doorway carrying a wicker basket and a rug over his arm.

‘Wh-what are you doing here?’ she asked, dazed, as she walked around her desk to approach him.

‘I figured you still need to eat, even if you’re on standby,’ Daniel said, smiling softly as he opened the basket lid.

Daisy peered inside at the selection of cheeses, grapes and biscuits, and raised her eyebrows at him, an awed smile forming on her parted lips. ‘You made us a picnic?’

‘Mm-hmm. I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for so-’

But Daisy interrupted him by cupping his face and kissing him firmly on the lips. Daniel walked her backwards towards her desk so that he could put down the picnic basket and rug as he kissed her back, and when they broke apart they smiled at each other and hugged tightly.

‘I’m sorry about what I said yesterday, about you doing too much overtime,’ Daniel said, frowning slightly, as they leaned away.

Daisy grimaced. ‘W-well, I mean, you kind of had a point.’

The concept of ‘overtime’ hadn’t really existed for Daisy before. Back on the Zephyr, the Lighthouse, the Playground, the Bus…for years, the work had always been non-stop, and there had been no set hours. But now, with the new policies Mack had helped create in the interest of the wellbeing of everyone employed at S.H.I.E.L.D., all the agents were able to choose their hours and days. Daisy hadn’t realised until now just how much she’d been struggling to adjust to this new way of working that should seem so normal and straightforward.

Daniel shook his head as he rested his hands on her waist. ‘No, I didn’t. Like you said, you’ve been helping out Mack, you’re…going above and beyond what an ordinary agent would do because you’re Daisy Johnson and you’re incredible. And I love you all the more for it,’ he said, making Daisy’s heart soar, but then his face fell slightly. ‘I promised I would never hurt you, and I broke that promise yesterday. I’m…I’m so sorry, Daisy.’

‘What? No. You didn’t hurt me,’ Daisy said at once, frowning and shaking her head. ‘We just had an argument, we got our wires crossed, and…I shouldn’t have run away from it like I did, that was stupid. It’s nothing to freak out about, or…feel guilty about. Okay? Shit happens. We deal with it, we move on. It’s okay. It’s _good_.’

Daniel smiled. This was exactly what Mack had told him yesterday, but it was such a relief to hear it from Daisy’s lips.

While Daniel lay out the picnic rug on her office floor and put the food and drinks (non-alcoholic, seeming as she was on duty) out, Daisy went over to her music system to play the playlist she had created specifically for Daniel; she put on Frank Sinatra’s ‘It Had To Be You’ on first, because she knew it was one of Daniel’s favourites.

‘This is…I love it, Dan, this is so sweet,’ Daisy said, munching on a biscuit as they spread out on the rug.

Daniel nodded in agreement as he popped a grape in his mouth. ‘We should do it more often, whenever either of us is on standby.’

‘Yeah, definitely,’ Daisy said, and she swallowed nervously as she glanced up at him nervously from under her lashes. ‘So I, uh, I realised earlier today that…well, I’ve never been in a relationship that’s lasted this long before. Over seven months.’

Daniel smiled at her. They both knew what a big deal that was for her.

‘I guess…it’s only natural that we’d…fight now and then,’ Daisy went on.

‘Yeah, exactly. It’s healthy,’ Daniel said encouragingly.

‘Yeah,’ Daisy said, and then she frowned, as if confused. ‘God, a healthy relationship, I feel so mature. What have you done to me?’

They both laughed softly. Daisy then reached out to touch Daniel’s hand, and there was a silence as they both looked at their hands on the picnic rug while Frank Sinatra’s sultry tones serenaded them, and they met each other’s gaze.

‘It’s…it’s so nice,’ Daisy said quietly, and she looked dazed. ‘It’s…this…this is real, isn’t it?’

Daniel smiled as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it. ‘It is.’

After that, they were somehow even stronger together than they had been before, as if their silly argument had brought them closer, which Daisy hadn’t thought were possible. She had been across the world, travelled to the distant ends of galaxies, made a name for herself as Quake on a variety of alien planets, and yet nothing seemed more foreign to her than a loving, committed, solid relationship. The initial fire and burning passion may have begun to die down – although they still frequently got butterflies when they were around each other – but what they were left with was something far more special: it was constant, unwavering love. And, if anything, it made Daisy even more excited for what was to come next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys didn't mind Daisy and Daniel's little argument in the last part of this chapter haha, I just felt like it was realistic to include it just to show that all good relationships have their ups and downs. But don't worry, there won't be another one!! Only 2 chapters left :O Thanks as always for still reading!!


	30. The Man Out Of Time & Quake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during the one-year gap in Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D  
> (Takes place during March-June)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s the penultimate chapter(!) – I’m already getting emotional about finishing this – and a shorter one than the last two (sorry) but hope you still enjoy it! The final chapter should be finished and posted by the end of this weekend. Again, thank you so SO much for still reading and for your lovely comments 😊

_Hello Mack,_

_It’s only been a week since you left on that extraordinary ~~hellcarier helliplane~~ aircraft (thank you again for our grand tour of that earlier this month), and HQ is already feeling your absence. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to get this letter to you, but Quake has said she’ll try and see if someone has a fax machine somewhere. I suspect she was joking, but I’m going to see if I can get one of my friends in ‘the HQ Squad’ to scan it over to you for me._

_Quake keeps telling me I should just send you a text, which I know would be much more straightforward now that you are quite literally unreachable by post, but, honestly, I still can’t get my head around my new cell phone. Also, texting just seems very impersonal, and the messages are shorter and get lost easier. So I think I’ll stick to writing my letters for now – although I do enjoy receiving messages and ‘notifications’ on my phone._

_Quake helped me post our first ‘Instagram selfie’ the other day, whatever that means, and apparently you and Yo-Yo ‘liked’ it? The whole thing still baffles me but hopefully, thanks to that new guidebook you sent me, I should improve. Once I’ve read it thoroughly, I might even be able to trick Quake into believing I’ve finally got the hang of this modern technology malarkey. Although, secretly I think she enjoys seeing me struggle still._

_As promised, I thought I should give you my review of ‘Hamilton’ from when Quake and I went to see it the other night (thanks again for helping me with those tickets, I really appreciate it). It was absolutely phenomenal. Quake always expected it would be, but I was blown away. I quite literally couldn’t speak for quite a while after the curtain call. I’ve never seen, or could ever have imagined, a spectacle on stage like it. The music, the performances, just everything…I have a feeling I will be in awe for many weeks to come. I confess I have even started joining in Quake’s Hamilton singalongs in our apartment._

_Quake and I are closer than ever before (yes, I can see you rolling your eyes and chuckling as you read that, but it’s true). I’m on Cloud Nine. Is that still a saying you have here? If not, then basically it just means I’m very happy, incandescently so. And what makes it even better is that ~~Quake~~ Daisy says she is too. I can only imagine how much you must be missing Yo-Yo. You must already be looking forward to your reunion next month._

_Perhaps we could have a telephone call at some point when you are free? Do you even have a telephone on your new base up there high above the clouds? Or is that just yet another silly question from The Man Out Of Time?_

_All the best,_

_Daniel_

*****

Spring arrived, and the team didn’t visit or contact one another half as much as Daisy would have liked, but she supposed that was only to be expected, when they were all busy and scattered across different parts of the world.

Yo-Yo had now finalised her new team with Piper and Davis in L.A., Fitz and Simmons were still shacked up enjoying their retirement in their cosy cottage in Perthshire with sweet little Alya, May was getting ready for the launch of the Coulson Academy, Coulson himself was still taking some time out, and Mack was off commanding S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new helicarrier. Daniel and Mack kept in touch the most; theirs was a close friendship that had slowly crept up on Daisy, and she loved it dearly. She also was immensely pleased by how confident Daniel was becoming with his fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in HQ and out in the field. Since becoming more comfortable with this new life, Daniel had made quite a few friends out of his co-workers recently and had really come out of his shell. He felt almost like he had done back when he had been Chief – only this time he could grab a beer and go and see a movie with these new friends without them being intimidated or seeing him as the boss. It was one of the many nice things about his life at the moment.

Daisy was immensely happy when some new recruits arrived at HQ; it meant that she could go back to her normal hours and spend quality time with Daniel, as well as Kora, who had recently finished her sessions with the counselling service and seemed to be doing much better and more keen for socialising in general. While Daisy continued to show Daniel the luscious sights of New York and educate him further on 21st-century life, Daniel also taught her about more of the customs he’d been used to ‘back in the old days’. He took her regularly to a movie theatre that specialised in old classic films from his time, such as _Singin’ in the Rain_ , and she even got into old-style music by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Margaret Whiting and Doris Day. Daniel, meanwhile, was going through a whole variety of phases when it came to what he listened to in his spare time; his music taste now ranged from The Beatles and ABBA (who fascinated him) to Taylor Swift (his guilty pleasure after hearing Daisy sing along to one of her earlier albums). He wasn’t overly fond of current music, although one day he did discover _Uptown Funk_ and enjoyed it so much that he and Daisy went strutting around the apartment together in time to the beat as they sang along…at least until Kora walked in and caught them doing this on the video-camera on her new phone. Despite the occasional anomalies such as songs and artists like these, however, Daniel was assured that his ultimate favourite was – and he knew would always remain – the legendary Frank Sinatra.

A few days after watching _Calamity Jane_ together, Daniel came to their apartment after a mission to find Daisy belting out ‘Secret Love’ by Doris Day in the kitchen while she tried to cook. He could smell that whatever she’d put in the oven was burning, but he put that to the back of his mind for a moment as he came up to her, tickling her waist and pulling her close to him as he kissed her tenderly, interrupting her singalong, and she laughed gleefully. He loved the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed.

A pleasant development that neither Daisy nor Daniel had expected as the weeks continued to pass was their growing friendship with Piper and Davis. The bickering pair joined Yo-Yo on her missions to hunt down 0-8-4s but regularly took time out to visit Daisy and Daniel at HQ, and later on at their apartment and at diners and the movies, and the four of them became good friends. Daisy had forgotten how much she’d missed her time with Piper and Davis during their endless months of travel in space to find Fitz, and, as she’d predicted, Daniel got on with them both, in particular Davis, spectacularly well. Daniel said he always got a ‘big tickle’ whenever he spent time with Piper and Davis (Daisy gave him a funny look when he said this, but apparently it just meant that he found them absolutely hilarious, which she supposed made sense). Daniel even set up Piper with a new fun female recruit who’s just joined the agency, though Daisy wasn’t sure why she was surprised by this; she had been able to tell from the moment she’d met Daniel at Area 51 that typical fifties attitudes weren’t something that resonated with him at all.

Daniel wished that he’d found these people – Daisy, Mack, Piper, Davis, Kora, Jemma, and everyone else – sooner, but better late than never. He felt more at home here than he had ever done back in his own time…despite appearances to the contrary. He may still be confused and taken aback and sometimes downright disturbed by some of the practices and attitudes and behaviours of today’s society, but he was getting used to it. And it was a fun ride, particularly for Daisy to experience alongside him as she continued to teach and show both him and Kora the ways of how the world worked in the 21st century. Nearly nine months in and still not a day went by when Daniel wasn’t left completely flummoxed by something that Daisy considered an ordinary part of life.

He had a new smartphone, though he had no idea how to work it. He liked playing games and fooling around with the silly filters when taking photos and asking Google the most obscure questions simply for his own amusement, but he still couldn’t get the hang of social media or even basic texting, though he knew if he tried more he probably would be fine with it. Daniel _had_ worked out how to save a photo of himself and Daisy as his screen background though, which he was very proud of. He kept looking at it at random points throughout each day; he wasn’t sure whether that was because he was still amazed that he had managed to work out how to accomplish such a basic thing, or if the photo itself of him and Daisy, beaming together cheek-to-cheek, was what left him completely starstruck.

In April, the Fitzsimmons family booked a last-minute flight to New York to visit the team members still in the area over the school holiday. Daisy and Daniel drove over to pick them up from the airport, but on the way they came across a golden retriever bounding about in the middle of the road, limping on his paw; he’d clearly got lost and hurt himself.

‘We need to take him to a vet,’ Daniel said anxiously, as they guided the whimpering dog over to the car. ‘Do we have a map in here, we can see if there’s one nearby?’

‘Or I can just look it up on here?’ Daisy reminded him, showing him her cell phone. ‘But it’s okay, I, uh…I know a guy.’

Daniel eyed her warily. ‘You ‘know a guy’. That doesn’t sound reassuring.’

‘He’s a vet,’ Daisy said, smiling exasperatedly, as Daniel got in the back-seat to sit with the anxious golden retriever. ‘I’ll take us there now.’

When they eventually reached the veterinary clinic and parked up, Daisy took a deep breath and turned around in the driver’s seat to face Daniel. The golden retriever was resting his head on Daniel’s lap while he stroked him.

‘Okay, so, uh…he goes by ‘Doctor Winslow’,’ Daisy told him.

Daniel frowned, picking up on her uneasy tone. ‘‘Goes by’? Why, what’s his actual name?’

‘Cal,’ Daisy replied, her voice shaking slightly. ‘Though he doesn’t know that.’

Danie’s lips parted slightly. Daisy had told Daniel all about her father, and everything that had happened, including how she had asked for his memories to be wiped so that he could have a chance at a happy life, a new identity, a fresh start.

‘Your…he’s your father?’ Daniel asked quietly.

‘It’s okay,’ Daisy reassured him. ‘I’ve seen him a few times since…since it happened.’

‘But…Dais, are you sure…?’

‘He’s a good vet. And…I want you to meet him,’ Daisy realised.

It was important to her that Daniel knew her father, even if only briefly. She couldn’t explain why, but it was.

Cal turned out to be extremely jovial, talkative and hospitable. Luckily, the golden retriever was chipped and so they were able to get in touch with his owners; while they waited for them to arrive, Cal treated the dog’s injured paw and talked enthusiastically to Daisy and Daniel about his work and the animals. When he asked them about their own line of work, Daisy and Daniel exchanged an awkward glance before saying something along the lines of ‘a boring, office job’ before they were saved by the arrival of the golden retriever’s owners. They were overwhelmingly relieved to be reunited with their beloved dog, and grateful to Daisy and Daniel for rescuing him from the road; he had escaped through a hole in their garden fence and ran out into the road, and they’d feared they would never see him again.

‘You’re both true heroes,’ were Cal’s parting words to Daisy and Daniel as they bid farewell and headed back to their car.

When they got back into the front seats of the car, they both sat in silence for a moment, a little dazed.

‘Are you okay?’ Daniel asked Daisy after a while.

‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m good,’ Daisy replied thoughtfully. ‘Just…it’s been a while, y’know.’

‘I think he’d be very proud of you, Daisy. He’s a nice man. And…he seems really happy,’ Daniel said, his tone soft, as he smiled at her.

Daisy nodded slowly. ‘Yeah. I agree,’ she said, gripping his hand, and she leaned over her seat to kiss him.

They then resumed their journey to the airport, speaking affectionately about Cal and his clear devotion to animals, and joking about whether he would have been such a fan of Daniel if he’d known he was his daughter’s romantic partner – but of course he would have done, how could he not? – and Daisy sent a quick message to Jemma and Fitz to let them know that they would be a few minutes late.

‘That dog back there really took to you,’ Daisy noted, and Daniel’s face broke out in a huge smile.

‘I love dogs.’

‘Same!’ Daisy said enthusiastically. ‘They’re amazing.’

‘I’ve always wanted one, but…with this line of work, you can’t, can you?’ Daniel said, shrugging.

‘Well, depends what area you’re in,’ Daisy said thoughtfully, as she steered the car around the corner. ‘There are some agents with kids and pets, who just don’t go out in the field, and with this new flexible-working policy Mack started…’

‘Well there we are then. In a few years I’ll quit the field, stay in HQ or go work at the Academy, and we’ll get a dog,’ Daniel said decisively.

‘Yeah?’ Daisy said, beaming.

‘Yeah. I should think about giving up field work sometime soon anyway, I’m already in my mid-thirties.’

Daisy rolled her eyes, amused. ‘Daniel, did you not hear May when she said she was twenty years older than you?’ she said, laughing. ‘And she’s literally _only_ just retired from the field.’

Daniel merely chuckled.

Daisy knew that he could get quite paranoid about his age sometimes. He hated the things that she loved about his appearance; the small specks of grey hair appearing on his temple, the crinkles around his eyes that only grew more prominent whenever he laughed or smiled (which, of course, had happened a lot more in the past nine months). He felt a lot younger than he was, but so did Daisy; she still sometimes felt the same age she’d been when she’d first joined S.H.I.E.L.D.. They were both young at heart, particularly more so since they had found each other.

The arrival of Alya only made them feel even younger. When Daisy and Daniel brought the happy family back to their apartment, they spent a great deal of time watching Disney movies with Alya and helping her create and perform plays with her toy monkeys that she’d brought along for their exciting holiday. They all went out for meals and visited Central Park and acted like proper tourists as they took the Fitzsimmons’ around the city. May and Kora even joined them for one day, which was nice.

One evening, when Alya had gone to bed early after an exhausting day seeing the sights of New York, Daniel spent a great deal of time talking to Fitz, who was enthusiastically asking him more about his past with the SSR. Meanwhile, Jemma took the opportunity to ask Daisy about the progress of her relationship with ‘Agent Sousa’.

‘‘Agent Sousa’? Really? Still?’ Daisy said incredulously.

‘I’m sorry, it’s just habit!’ Jemma said, laughing.

Daisy had a feeling that it wasn’t just Jemma wanting to be polite, however. By calling people ‘Agent’, she was still keeping that tie with S.H.I.E.L.D.. She was having a hard time letting it go.

‘Well…we, uh…when we were shopping for a new kitchen table, he…when talking to the sales guy, he referred to me as his partner,’ Daisy said, unable to keep the smile from her face.

Jemma’s face lit up in delight. ‘Oooh, his _partner_?!’

‘Mm-hmm.’

‘And…did you like that?’ she asked eagerly.

‘I really did,’ Daisy replied. ‘We hadn’t talked about it before, but…um…obviously I wouldn’t let it go afterwards-’

‘Obviously.’

‘And, uh…yeah. We’re partners now, I guess,’ Daisy said, sounding surprised to say it. ‘Not that…I believe in labels or any of that, but, uh…yeah, it’s nice.’

‘Nice’ was a huge understatement, but Daisy didn’t like to make a song and dance about it. She and Daniel had agreed to act as low-key about their relationship as possible, just because they liked their privacy and their freedom to see where this wonderful journey together took them, without any pressure or expectation from others.

The week went by too quickly, and before they knew it, it was time for the Fitzsimmons’ to leave for the airport and head back to Scotland. Before they departed, Jemma and Fitz approached Daniel to lend him one of their favourite books to read: _Cosmos_ by Carl Sagan.

‘Here. We had this to read when Jemma and I were…well, away on the Zephyr raising this little one,’ Fitz said, ruffling Alya’s hair as she stood between them.

Jemma smiled warmly at Daniel. ‘You seemed so…enthusiastic about it all, after you went in the Quinjet last year-’

‘To space, you mean?’ Daniel said, and he chuckled dazedly. ‘Sometimes I still have trouble believing that it actually happened and it wasn’t just a dream.’

‘Well believe it, and read this,’ Fitz said, passing the book over. ‘It’s fascinating stuff.’

‘Thank you, that’s…I really appreciate it,’ Daniel replied, grateful. ‘I’ll read it as soon as I’ve finished _Harry Potter_. I’m near the end of the fifth book now, so…I’m making steady progress.’

‘And?’ Jemma said, her eyebrows raised. ‘Verdict?’

Daniel hesitated for a moment as he looked at both Jemma and Fitz’s eagerly-awaiting faces, then he smiled. ‘They’re pretty awesome, I’m not gonna lie.’

Jemma and Fitz grinned smugly at each other and high-fived.

‘I told you he’d like it!’ Jemma said triumphantly.

‘Aaand welcome to the nerd herd,’ Daisy said, sidling up to Daniel as they all laughed.

After the Fitzsimmons’ had left, Daisy felt rather downcast. She missed her friends terribly, and she hated that they were so far apart, that they could only see each other a few times a year now. Fitz had apparently almost finished a modification to the Framework in a portable device that would enable everyone in the team to tune in virtually and speak as if seeing each other in person, but it wasn’t _really_ the same, was it? Their time together as a team was truly a thing of the past now.

Daniel could sense Daisy’s low mood; he slowly walked up behind her as she leaned against the wall; Daisy reached her hand behind her shoulder for him and, attuned to what she wanted, he hugged her gently from behind. He’d put his turntable on, and Frank Sinatra’s ‘That’s All’ was playing, which soothed Daisy.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked gently, his head resting on her shoulder.

‘Yeah. I’m okay,’ Daisy replied, as she held onto his hands wrapped around her stomach.

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Of course.’

‘I sometimes wonder…what do you think the odds were of us meeting that day?’ he asked curiously. ‘June 22nd 1955.’

There was a silence as Daisy frowned and thought about it, her fingers stroking his.

‘I’ve been thinking about it,’ Daniel said. ‘Back then, I was based in L.A. permanently and just _happened_ to be visiting Area 51 that day. You were a 21st-century agent on a time-travelling mission who, by random chance, ended up being led to where I was, all just because of the Chronicoms. If you hadn’t been there, you and I would never have met and I would have died that night.’

Daisy turned around to face him then, though he kept his arms around her waist. ‘And then if that had happened…you would never have been there to save me from Malick in that barn, so I’d have…most likely died there…but even if I somehow _hadn’t_ died, you wouldn’t have been around to help solve the time loops, or…come up with a way to get us out of that Chronicom ship,’ she said, frowning. ‘Whichever way you look at it, no-one in the team would have survived. Malick and the Chronicoms would have won.’

Daniel raised his eyebrows and exhaled deeply. ‘You know, Mack was right, ‘The Man Out Of Time & Quake’ does seem like a good comic book idea,’ he said, and Daisy laughed softly.

‘I’ve never…I’ve never really thought about it. The chances of us meeting…what would have happened if the Chronicoms hadn’t led us to Area 51 that day…’ Daisy murmured, dazed.

‘Or if I’d just stayed in my L.A. office and sent someone else in my place instead.’

Daisy barely repressed a shudder at the thought. ‘Maybe it was…fate,’ she said, but then she grimaced. ‘God, I know that sounds crazy-’

‘No, it doesn’t. It’s the least crazy thing either of us have said in this conversation. It’s the only thing that makes sense in a way,’ Daniel said warmly, as he tightened his hold around her. ‘I’ve never believed in…fate or destiny or…meant to be…but…I don’t know how else to explain this.’

Daisy smiled back at him. ‘Me neither,’ she said, and as she kissed his lips tenderly they were both hit with the realisation that they had never loved anyone as much as they loved each other.

A few weeks later, Daisy met up with Coulson for coffee while on her lunch break at work; he was back in the area and now dropping in at HQ quite regularly. No matter how much he felt he needed to escape it, he knew deep down that S.H.I.E.L.D. would always be a part of him.

After reminiscing on the good old days and talking about the rest of the team, the conversation inevitably turned to Daniel.

‘I hear from Davis that Agent Sousa seems to be fitting in well with everyone here now, I gather he’s quite popular here at HQ,’ Coulson said.

‘Yeah, they think he’s a cute dork. Which he is,’ Daisy said proudly.

Coulson smiled softly at her. ‘How are things going with you two anyway?’

Daisy hesitated. ‘Uh…they’re going,’ she said, taking a large gulp of her coffee.

Coulson stared at her. ‘That’s it? ‘They’re going’?’ he said, raising his eyebrows. ‘I gotta say, I was kinda hoping for a bit more than that.’

Daisy began to laugh. ‘Okay, so…honestly? Daniel and I are a bit freaked out by how well things are actually going, so when people ask us that we just try and keep it casual because knowing our luck we’ll probably jinx it if we’re honest about it,’ she admitted, and Coulson smiled and nodded in understanding.

‘Ah, I see. So just ‘they’re going’ is actually code for…‘they’re going insanely well’?’

‘Yeah. Basically,’ Daisy replied, averting her gaze as if embarrassed.

Coulson tilted his head at her and smiled. For as long as he’d known her, she had been longing for a family, for that special connection with someone. Now she had finally found one for good, one that Coulson was sure would last, one that made her incandescently happy. And that pleased Coulson more than Daisy could ever know.

‘You don’t have to be afraid of telling people how happy you are, you know,’ he said gently.

‘I know. It’s just…it’s still taking some getting used to. It’s scary, and…neither of are used to it. We don’t want to ruin anything,’ Daisy explained. ‘We’d been trying to take things slow, keep it casual – I mean, as casual as we could, given that we’re living together – but, y’know, seeing how we feel, one step at a time, whatever…’

‘How’s that working out for you?’ Coulson asked, smirking.

‘Surprisingly really hard,’ Daisy said, grinning, and she gazed over at the father figure who she missed so very much. ‘I love him, Coulson.’

Coulson smiled, looking just as emotional at hearing her words as Daisy felt to say them. ‘That makes me very happy.’

When Daisy returned home to the apartment that evening, she found Daniel and Kora sat together on the couch and laughing as they raced each other on a game of _Mario Kart_ on the Nintendo Switch that Mack had bought them for Christmas. In that moment, as she watched her partner and sister with a fond smile on her face, Daisy realised that she didn’t really have a reason to be sad about the way things had changed with S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. The main reason she had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place was so that could try and find her family. And that was exactly what she had found.

*****

_Hello to the Fitzsimmons family!_

_I would just like to say how lovely it was to see you all last month. Daisy and I thoroughly enjoyed your visit. To see how happy you both are in your retirement, and with precious Alya as well, is truly a gift. I think you even made Daisy a bit envious – you certainly did for both of us over Christmas! I hope Alya’s enjoying it back at school with her friends._

_I’ve attached the design you asked for, I hope it helps – please excuse the shoddy drawing, I had to hurry up towards the end because Daisy came home early (and obviously I couldn’t risk her seeing). Let me know what you both think! Thanks again for doing this for me, I really appreciate it._

_Daisy and I watched the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy a few days ago…interestingly their rules of time-travel seem to differ somewhat from reality; I would love to hear your take on this, Fitz, as I’m sure you will have a lot to say about it. Also their depiction of the year 2015 amused me very much. Overall, all three movies were extremely enjoyable…although Daisy and I are having an ongoing debate about which one is the best._

_In other movie-related news, we went to an outdoor theatre showing of the modern-day musical ‘La La Land’ last week, I’m not sure if you remember that Daisy got me tickets for it for Christmas? Anyway, there was a live orchestra accompanying the movie, and the sun was setting during the last 20 minutes, and it was beautiful. I’m not ashamed to admit I may have shed a tear at the end._

_Daisy tells me you have recently been able to reconnect with your old S.H.I.E.L.D. friends, Bobbi and Hunter, due to your retirement from the agency. Daisy has told me all about them and your missions together, and they sound like very fine people. I’m glad you are now able to see them more often; I know Daisy wishes she was allowed to do the same, but I can’t see her wanting to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. anytime soon – and, let’s be honest, neither will I, most probably._

_Alya, I’m now speaking directly to you. I hope you had a wonderful birthday, and that you enjoyed your present. We weren’t sure whether you had too many stuffed monkeys already, but Daisy and I thought this one was particularly cute and worth adding to your impressive collection. Please do let us know what you name him/her._

_I look forward to our next video call. Until then, take care._

_Love from,_

_Uncle Daniel_

_P.S. Jemma and Fitz – I finished 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. All I can say is ‘wow’! Give me a call when Alya’s old enough to start watching the movies and Daisy and I will catch the next flight over!_

*****

In May, the Coulson Academy officially opened and hundreds of new trainees arrived. A few weeks after the induction, May contacted Daniel to ask if he would like to come in a couple of times a week to speak as a guest lecture. He obliged, and it turned out to be very rewarding work. It was inspiring to see so many eager young recruits, and they seemed to enjoy the tales of Daniel’s experiences in the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D (well, his ‘long-lost ancestor’s’ experiences, officially). He realised that this was what he would like to do; perhaps, in a few years, when he turned forty or something, he could take on less physical cases out in the field and become an instructor like May at the Academy. And then that way, he and Daisy could get a dog like they had fantasised about…and perhaps even settle down, and think about family life. But he enjoyed the fieldwork and investigative missions far too much to do that right now.

One day, as Daniel jotted down some notes on a recent assignment he’d been on for him to mention in his next guest lecture at the Academy, Daisy came home early with a look of both trepidation and excitement on her face. She went up to him sat at their new kitchen table, and they kissed and talked about their day for a few minutes before she went into their bedroom to change. She took a deep breath as she came back out into the hallway, wondering how she was going to approach the subject that had been on her mind since the moment Mack had contacted her about it from the helicarrier early this morning. She crossed over to the turntable and put on some old jazz music to calm her nerves; she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply as ‘Misty’ by Ella Fitzgerald began to play, and she gazed over at Daniel, still sat at the table poring over his notes without a clue of how Daisy was about to change their lives.

Daisy smiled fondly as she watched him work. They had passed the honeymoon phase now, and yet they were still infatuated and felt a pleasant jolt of surprise whenever they looked upon each other, as if still struggling to come to terms with the fact that this was real, that they had really found each other, that they were together. Everything had changed for them since the moment they’d first met, and in this past year with this man, this wonderful man who cared so deeply for everyone and showed her such unconditional love, Daisy had felt herself grow in confidence and become her true self again. She wasn’t just content, she was truly happy. And she had a sneaking suspicion right now as she gazed over at him that somehow, inexplicably, she was about to become even happier.

‘Dan, I’ve…I’ve got some news,’ Daisy began, walking slowly over to the table.

Daniel picked up on her tone at once and looked away from his notes. ‘Okay,’ he said, prompting her to continue, as he removed his reading glasses.

‘It’s…it’s kind of exciting,’ Daisy said, trying and failing not to smile. ‘I-I’ve been asked to lead a new…well, a new division of S.H.I.E.L.D.’

Daniel’s face lit up as he leapt to his feet. ‘A new division?! Daisy, that’s amazing. I’m so proud of you!’ he said, taking her in his arms in a fierce hug. ‘Of course, they couldn’t have picked anyone better.’

‘Thanks, but…there’s a slight complication,’ Daisy said, as they leaned away.

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah. It would mean we’d have to… _slightly_ delay our plans to buy a house,’ Daisy said grimacing; they’d been saving for a couple of months now, and planned to start looking at the house market by winter. ‘I’d have to move away if I took the assignment.’

‘Okay, well that’s no problem, let’s do it,’ Daniel said, without hesitation.

Daisy smiled as she gazed at him in disbelief. ‘You won’t even ask me where it is or what the job is or what the new division involves, you’d just say yes?’

‘Of course. Every time,’ Daniel said, and she cupped his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his lovingly.

‘Well…I _would_ need to recruit my own team, if I said yes,’ she said, once they’d broken apart. ‘I know Kora would be up for it, she’s desperate to use her training out in the field, and…I’m sure I could use a square around to keep me in check. But…Dan, it’s not your standard kinda job. It’s…a far cry from the…the ordinary life you wanted to try.’

Daniel shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter. Ordinary life can wait. You know I’d go anywhere with you,’ he said softly.

‘I know. And I love you so much for it,’ Daisy said, stroking his cheek, but her smile faded slightly. ‘But this is…big. It’s not your usual kind of relocation.’

Daniel seemed unconcerned as he cocked an eyebrow at her playfully. ‘The suspense is killing me.’

Daisy grinned and indicated that they should sit down; they took the two nearest chairs at the kitchen table. ‘Uh…remember last year when we…took that, um, cute little sight-seeing trip out to space in the Quinjet?’ she began tentatively.

‘Ah, our first date…sort of,’ Daniel said wistfully. ‘Hard to forget the day you killed Malick and saved the world and somehow survived an explosion in space while doing it.’

‘Well…about that…you enjoyed it, right? Being up there,’ Daisy said in a hopeful tone, watching him closely. ‘Aside from the whole…you know…Chronicom…complication. Like, you turned into a full-on space geek so…’

‘Well I wouldn’t say ‘geek’ but, uh…’ – he paused as Daisy raised her eyebrows at him, and he smirked – ‘okay, fair point, yeah, it was…incredible,’ he admitted, and he frowned at her curiously. ‘Why, where are you going with this?’

Daisy took a deep breath. ‘The new division is a department specialising in…sentient world observation and response. It’ll be looking at threats to world security, but…extra-terrestrial threats.’

There was a short pause as Daniel took in her words.

‘Extra-terrestrial,’ he said slowly.

‘Mm-hmm.’

His forehead was creased slightly. ‘Sounds dangerous.’

‘Yep. Probably,’ Daisy agreed. ‘But nothing I wouldn’t be able to handle. I’ve seen and done a lot.’

Daniel smiled. ‘Don’t I know it.’

‘But…it means…it would mean…leaving Earth for a while,’ Daisy said, swallowing nervously and averting her gaze. ‘I’ve done it before, I spent a year out in space travelling between galaxies with Simmons to find Fitz, and we saw all kinds of planets and worlds and met aliens and the whole works – I mean, you know, I’ve told you all about it – but…it’s not easy, it’s…it’s not settling down or…-’

‘But it’s…it’s _space_ ,’ Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her, as if excited. ‘Sounds pretty awesome to me.’

Daisy tilted her head at him. ‘You’re just saying that to make me think it’s okay to take the job.’

‘I think you _should_ take it,’ he encouraged.

Daisy sighed, torn. ‘But would you wanna come? Away from Earth, when you’ve only really just got used to things here?’ she asked. ‘I mean, seriously…because…we could make long distance work, I could set up virtual calls, we could keep in touch, I could try and visit – and I wouldn’t be away for long anyway, just a few months, maybe a year or two at most – but-’

‘I don’t wanna do that,’ Daniel said at once, frowning at the thought, and Daisy exhaled in relief.

‘I don’t wanna do that either. I don’t wanna waste any time, I…what we’ve got going, this, _us_ , it’s…it’s the best time I’ve ever had,’ Daisy said, gripping his hands tightly in her own. ‘I know what it’s like to be happy now, I don’t want that to stop.’

Daniel smiled lovingly at her as he squeezed her hands back. ‘Me neither.’

‘So I think I should stay. With you,’ she said firmly. ‘And we should stick to Plan A and carry on with our regular S.H.I.E.L.D. work here and get a house.’

Daisy knew it made sense. He always made her a priority, so she made him one of hers.

Daniel smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. He couldn’t believe she would really pass on an incredible adventure through space simply because she thought he’d prefer to stay here. She didn’t want to go anywhere without him.

‘Plan A sounds good,’ he said thoughtfully, and Daisy smiled.

‘Mm-hm. Sounds perfect to me.’

‘Do you know what else sounded good?’ Daniel said, leaning closer to her. ‘Last year when we pretended to be a couple in the speakeasy in ’73 when Gideon Malick was trying it on with you, and I called you my fiancé.’

Daisy felt her heart skip a beat. ‘That _did_ sound good, yes,’ she said, and a smile slowly appeared on her lips as she gazed at him in wonder. ‘Daniel Sousa, what are you saying?’

‘You know exactly what I’m saying,’ Daniel said softly, his smile and gaze loving as he laced her fingers with his. ‘But I’m not gonna ask the question now, because we’ve got to start preparing for Plan B.’

‘Plan B?’ Daisy asked, frowning.

‘You’re taking that assignment. You’re leading the new S.H.I.E.L.D. department. And I’m coming with you,’ Daniel said firmly, squeezing her hands. ‘It’s what you want, and it’s what I want as well.’

Daisy looked at him doubtfully. ‘You really want to go out to space? For…like, months at a time? It would mean living on another Zephyr ship.’

‘Even better, just like old times,’ Daniel said, making her smile. ‘Like you said, I…I _loved_ being out there, when we were in the Quinjet, it was…it was amazing, there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by when I haven’t thought about it, or-or dreamed about it, even. And I think I could handle a few aliens, y’know, and help Quake save the world from inter-planetary wars.’

Daisy couldn’t help grinning back at him. ‘You’re actually being serious, aren’t you?’

‘Mm-hmm,’ Daniel said, nodding. ‘Word from the bird.’

Daisy stared at him. ‘Wh-what?’

‘Really? ‘Word from the bird’? No?’ Daniel said, disappointed. ‘Okay, uh…well, I mean, absolutely. Ordinary life here is fun, but we can carry on with a lot of it out there when we’re flying between worlds.’

Daisy could tell he was saying it to encourage her, but she also could tell that he believed in her, that he believed in this new division, and more than anything that he wanted to go with her.

‘You’re unbelievable, you know,’ Daisy said, and she got up off her chair to sit in his lap and kiss him; when they broke apart, she stroked his hair softly. ‘Hey, if Kora joins as well, we’d have to really try not to make her feel like too much of a third wheel.’

‘A…what, now?’ Daniel asked, confused, and Daisy chuckled softly.

‘Oh, err…ooh, I got this – a gooseberry? Is that what you’d say? Does that make sense?’

‘Y-yeah, that makes sense,’ Daniel replied, smiling.

She bit her lip as she gazed at him, trying not to feel too excited. ‘Are you sure about this?’ she asked. ‘It’s…a big decision.’

Daniel gazed at her, his eyes full of nothing but pure devotion and love. ‘I’m being given the opportunity to join a new S.H.I.E.L.D. division led by none other than Agent Daisy Johnson out in space protecting the Earth. There’s no decision to make,’ he said, and he smiled warmly at her. ‘Let’s go explore the stars.’


	31. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on events during the epilogue in Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final chapter! Hope you enjoy :)

The new division was called S.W.O.R.D. – the Sentient World Observation and Response Department within the agency. The mission was simple: to make sure that nothing similar to the attempted Chronicom invasion on Earth would happen ever again. Their job was to meet with alien races and establish peace treaties and form good relationships with them. How hard could that be?

Daisy wasn't as nervous at the prospect of leading as she'd thought she would be. There was no one in the agency better suited for this position; she'd had a great deal of experience out there in the depths of space, after all, and had dealt with a whole variety of extra-terrestrial species on many different planets. This job was practically made for her, and Daniel was the perfect choice as her right-hand man; his diplomatic skills were unrivalled, and he had nothing but support and encouragement for her. He helped her see every single day that she was more than capable of doing this job, and, with Kora's enthusiasm at joining them on this mission, Daisy found herself itching to get going.

They had six weeks to prepare until they were due to set off on Zephyr 3, the new aircraft Mack had had made for this very purpose – with some inside help from Fitzsimmons, of course – and, as much as Daisy and Daniel were enjoying making the most of their lazy, domestic days together in the homey apartment that they loved so much, they couldn't wait to embark on this next adventure.

Daisy was firm on one thing as they made their plans with the other agents at HQ for this unusual assignment – that Daniel wouldn't just be working for her in her team; he was her work partner, and they were going to build up S.W.O.R.D. together.

'We should be called 'the Astro Ambassadors',' Daniel suggested.

Daisy pressed her lips together in an attempt not to start laughing as she looked at him. ''The Astro Ambassadors'?'

'Yeah, why, is that a bad name?' Daniel asked.

'N-no, it's…it's great,' Daisy said, smiling, as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. 'You're great.'

Kora couldn't stop laughing at Daniel's excitement. 'I can't believe you actually asked him if he'd prefer to stay,' she said to Daisy one day as they collected a bunch of files on all the known destinations they would be visiting. 'How many times has he gone on about that time we were in space last year? As if he'd ever go anywhere else but where you were anyway.'

'I know, but…I had to give him the choice,' Daisy said, smiling to herself.

Kora shook her head, dazed, as she watched Daisy. 'You really love him, don't you?'

Daisy smiled warmly. 'I really do.'

Daniel wasn't just her partner. He was the love of her life, a constant companion from another time…and now she had her sister from another dimension as well, excited to accompany them both on this new journey. Daisy kept wondering why she wasn't even the least bit scared about what they were facing, but then knew she didn't have to be, not with Daniel and Kora by her side.

She got them both going-away presents; for Kora, it was a crash-course from May on how to fly one of the Zephyr aircrafts (she knew that Kora had been wanting to be a pilot for some time now), and for Daniel it was something a little less exciting…a typewriter.

When she pulled out the clunky typewriter from her bag and placed it on their table, Daniel's mouth practically popped open in awe. ' _Wow_. Where did you get this?' he asked, amazed.

Daisy laughed; if this was his reaction at a typewriter, she couldn't imagine how he was going to cope when they eventually got out there into a far-away galaxy. 'An antique store. I saw it in the window and…well, it made me think of you,' she replied.

'Thank you, Daisy. You're…' But whatever it was she was, Daisy didn't find out, for Daniel then kissed her so deeply that she forgot practically who she was and what she was doing.

Daisy was confident that she was leaving her Secret Warriors team in good hands; she had managed to convince Joey Gutierrez to come back into the fold a few months ago, and he was more than capable – and passionate enough – to continue on with their work. Daisy had even had a few of the new Inhuman recruits sign up to be part of her new team – 'the Astro Ambassadors' team, Daniel insisted – on Zephyr 3.

Daniel began packing his belongings weeks in advance, and as he did so he kept listening to 'Come Fly With Me' and 'Fly Me To The Moon' on repeat, going back and forth between the two as if he couldn't quite decide which song he preferred, and one day Daisy even came home to hear him singing to himself, with a deep, smooth voice like a wonderful cross between Seth MacFarlane and Michael Bublé. His excitement was utterly adorable.

'Happy death-day anniversary,' Daisy said to him when June 22nd arrived.

'Best day of my life,' Daniel said, and when she gave him a questioning look, he smiled softly at her. 'It was the day I met you.'

That evening they had a date night with a pizza takeout and sat down to watch a movie. Daisy had considered showing him _Star Wars_ in preparation for their upcoming assignment, but then thought that that would just put him off, so went with _E.T._ instead. As she knew he would, Daniel got very emotional and cried at the end, and afterwards he went on and on about how beautiful the musical score was so much that Daisy showed him a John Williams playlist on Spotify (which only made Daniel tearful all over again), and from then on the apartment was filled with endless emotional film scores playing through the speakers.

On their last day before they were due to set off, Daisy and Daniel made their calls to the other team members. Daisy and the rest of the team had already agreed to try out the new Framework transmitter device that Fitz had sent them all a copy of to speak as a group in a couple of weeks, but there was still something rather final as Daisy and Daniel talked to them each in turn. The plan was that they should be back on Earth by Christmas for a few months, but they were going so far away and life out in space amongst the stars and planets and aliens was _extremely_ unpredictable, as Daisy well knew, so there was an air of uncertainty as she and Daniel made plans for the next time they would be able to visit the team.

After bidding farewell to Piper and Davis and wishing them luck on their next mission in L.A., they then had a chat with Alya over video call that evening – Daniel was still too freaked out by holograms and Daisy's story of the Framework so wasn't quite ready for trying out Fitz's adapted Framework device yet, particularly when he thought that Zoom was advanced enough. Alya was deeply upset and scared by the idea of Daisy and Daniel going so far away for a long time, so to cheer her up Daisy began to sing 'Remember Me' to her from Alya's favourite movie _Coco_ , and Daniel even joined in halfway through the song, making Alya's face light up with joy. It made Daisy feel rather emotional; here she was, singing a duet to her beloved goddaughter with the man she loved. It couldn't get much better than this, could it?

'You have such a nice voice,' Daniel said to Daisy, once they'd bid farewell to Alya and ended the call. 'You know, in another life, I bet you would have been a famous singer.'

'Uh-oh,' Daisy said, raising her eyebrows. 'Don't open that door.'

Daniel chuckled. 'Why not?'

''Cause otherwise I'm gonna spend our entire time out in space serenading everyone on Zephyr-3, and I don't think our new team would appreciate that,' she said dryly.

'Some of them might,' Daniel said, smiling, and Daisy rolled her eyes and kissed him before getting up to open a bottle of wine from the fridge.

'Hey, did you notice Jemma acting a little… well, weird, when we said about coming back in five months' time and everything being the same?' Daisy asked curiously.

Daniel frowned. 'Why, what are you thinking?'

'I'm just wondering if…maybe she…might be pregnant again,' she said, smiling excitedly, as she poured them both a glass of wine.

'Oooh,' Daniel said, his face lighting up, as he took his glass. 'Possibly.'

'I don't know, it was just something in her face. I can tell when she's trying not to smile. But, y'know, maybe it's just a trout in the milk.' Daisy said, and he smirked at her; he wasn't sure she fully understood the phrase, but he appreciated the gesture all the same. 'We'll just have to see.'

Daniel cleared his throat quietly as he looked down, suddenly intent on studying the wine glass in his hand. 'Daisy…w-would you ever…want ki-…I mean…just out of curiosity…theoretically speaking, y'know, in a few years…purely hypothetical…-'

'Yes,' Daisy said firmly, before he could ramble on any longer.

Daniel nearly spilt his drink as he looked up at her in surprise. ''Scuse me?'

Daisy smiled softly at him as she put down her wine glass and reached out to hold his hands, closing the distance between them. 'I didn't think I did. I never thought I would. But…yes. I'd like to have kids,' she said, astonished to hear herself say the words and know them to be true. 'In a few years, maybe. Ideally not in space, though, I don't think I could do what Simmons did.'

Daniel smiled at her, his gaze full of warmth. 'You'd like to have kids? Really?'

'Mm-hmm. I just hope I'll meet someone out there suitable enough to be the father,' Daisy said, and, chuckling, Daniel brought his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

It didn't take them long to set everything up on Zephyr 3 the next day. The aircraft was eerily similar to Z1, right down to the equipment room and healing chamber, but that only filled Daisy and Daniel with fond memories, rather than traumatising flashbacks (thankfully). As the other agents that formed part of Daisy's new team moved on board, claimed their bunks and began to settle in, Daniel and Kora both stayed with Daisy on the command bridge, mesmerized by how it was all going to work; their destinations were hundreds of light-years away, after all. Daisy explained to them both about the jump drive, and how it enabled them to transport from here to there, no matter how far the distance, in the blink of an eye. She didn't think either of them understood that well, but they took it all in their stride.

'You definitely sure you wanna be here?' Daisy said to Daniel with a smile as she watched him get out his pieces of paper and pens.

'Yes, of course. I'm with you, aren't I?' Daniel replied, smiling back at her. 'I'm right where I need to be.'

Daisy gazed at him for a moment, taking in the tender look in his eyes, his adorable dimples, his soft smile, and then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. No matter what they were doing or where they were going or how bad things would get, she knew that Daniel would always be by her side, just as she would always be by his. He was her touchstone in this crazy world they lived in, and she couldn't be more grateful. When she leaned away from him, smiling, she glanced down at his paper and pens.

'You know we can't post letters from space, right?' she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

'I know. But I want to write about what we see, where we go,' Daniel said.

'Like a journal?'

'Yeah. Sort of. I'll make my notes here then type it up properly on the typewriter. 'The Adventures of the Astro Ambassadors',' he said enthusiastically, and Daisy smirked. 'What?'

'Nothing, just…I love you,' she said, stroking his arms.

Daniel smiled. 'I love you, too.'

He kissed her tenderly at first, but when he deepened the kiss, she leaned away to see that smouldering hunger in his eyes and the way his parted lips were smiling at her, which left her with no choice but to slide the door to their bunk firmly shut so that she could spend some quality time alone with him before the Zephyr took off.

They had the biggest bunk, seeming as they were the two commanding the aircraft. The room was by no means as spacious as the one they had in their apartment back on Earth, but they'd personalised it with homey items to make it feel like their own. This was going to be their new home for a short while, after all. They had packed numerous other things for their own entertainment – they had brought Daniel's turntable, a huge collection of vinyl and DVD, Daisy's portable speakers, an endless pile of books, and their Nintendo Switch even. They knew it would be enough; besides, their main form of entertainment would be simply looking out of the front window.

The launch went successfully, and the moment they had left the Earth's atmosphere, Daniel hurried over to join Daisy and Kora in the cockpit. It had been almost an entire year since he had clasped his eyes on the planet from this viewpoint for the first time, and it was just as astonishing as he had remembered. It was strange to think that they wouldn't be back on Earth until Christmas, according to their schedule. And then after a few months, they would probably head straight back out here to continue representing their planet. It was a strange new life, and yet one both Daisy and Daniel already knew they were going to enjoy immensely.

While they travelled and Daisy adjusted to her new commanding role, Kora assisted as co-pilot and Daniel helped out around the aircraft and getting to know their new team members, while spending his free time reading the book _Cosmos_ that Jemma and Fitz had lent him. It made for a fascinating read; it taught him about the mysteries of space, but also inspired him with the idea that the universe was not simply made up of stars and planets; it was a link between all things, and was something they were all an important part of.

It was Daisy's birthday almost a week after they had set off on their travels. Daisy hadn't even registered the date until Daniel and Kora threw a surprise party for her on the command bridge with the rest of their new team; apparently, they had been planning it with the other agents for weeks. They had been limited with what they'd been able to do for it – it wasn't like they'd been able to bake a cake, after all – but the mere gesture itself was more than enough to make Daisy cry with happiness. She had never really celebrated her birthday before, not properly.

Daniel had bought her a load of presents, of course, and had also written a handmade personal voucher for Daisy, containing many suggestions for all the things they could do together once they returned to Earth. There was an adorable drawing of a little scruffy dog in the corner of the voucher that made Daisy smile giddily. That night, Daniel brought his turntable out onto the cockpit, and when the other agents had retired to their bunks and the Zephyr was left on auto-pilot, drifting through the vastness of space while the jump-drive charged up, he put on Frank Sinatra's 'Love Is Here To Stay'. As the song played, he took Daisy into his arms and began waltzing with her. Unable to keep the huge tender smiles off their faces, they rested their foreheads against each other's and swayed gently in the small space behind the pilot seats in the cockpit as they laughed and kissed and looked out at the stars, and it was the most romantic moment in Daisy's life that she knew she would never forget.

Daisy and the old team had arranged to meet up virtually for a group call using Fitz's updated Framework device on the one-year anniversary of the day they'd saved the world; the date seemed rather fitting. Daisy put on the new necklace Daniel had given her for her birthday, which went along nicely with a choker, and swallowed somewhat nervously as she did her hair and put on her smart jacket. As the time for their call approached, she headed up to the command bridge. Daniel was already there, surveying his own personalised old-fashioned control panel they'd designed for him.

He smiled as she approached. 'Is it nearly time?' he asked, and Daisy nodded. 'You're seriously telling me you can reach them on that thing? I lost signal trying to phone you that time I got lost in the shopping mall just before Christmas.'

Daisy chuckled as she sat down close to his control panel. 'Fitz is _very_ good when it comes to this sort of thing,' she said, the transmitter device ready in her hands.

Daniel frowned slightly, concerned; she looked a little uneasy. 'Are you okay?' he asked her gently.

'Uh, yeah, I'm just a little…I don't know why, but I feel nervous,' Daisy replied, confused and annoyed with herself for feeling this way. 'We haven't all spoken as a group – with all of us, together, I mean – for, like, a year.'

'That makes sense,' Daniel said softly, smiling. 'It'll be nice though. For you all to be together. Even if it's some creepy simulation-'

'It's not like how the Framework was before, honestly, Fitz has sorted it all out and Coulson's added his own personal touch to it apparently,' Daisy assured him, smiling.

'Okay. Well…tell them all I say hi,' Daniel said, taking the seat opposite her by his control panel. 'I'll be right here when you wake up…well, when you come back.'

'I know. You always are,' Daisy said, and she smiled warmly at him before attaching the Framework transmitter device to her temple, taking a deep breath, and turning the switch to enter the call.

*****

_Dear Daisy,_

_I have been so excited to use the new typewriter you got me that it seemed only right for my first letter on it to be for you. It is officially two weeks until we set off on Zephyr 3 and I am writing (correction: typing) this now while you are away in L.A. sorting out your 'Secret Warriors' shenanigans with Yo-Yo and Agent Gutierrez (I'm sorry, I'll just never get over the name 'Secret Warriors', it's hilarious)._

_I'm not sure when I will give this to you. Perhaps when we are far away in a galaxy somewhere thousands of light-years away from Earth. Perhaps when we are back home, whenever that will be, and planning whatever wonderful journey to go on together next. Or perhaps when we have settled down, if such a concept truly exists for people like us who love the adventurous life of S.H.I.E.L.D. so much._

_You have only been gone for two days and I miss you so much, even though I know you will be back tomorrow. It has only just made me realise that we haven't had much time spent apart ever since we came to the 21st century last year and began this new, scary, wonderful life of ours._

_I appreciate that you find cheesy speeches 'gross', as you put it, so forgive me for the rest of this paragraph, but I feel I must say it. Daisy, you have changed my life completely. Before you, I was lost. I was happy in my work, but I was a lonely wanderer in every other aspect of my life, and then you came along and saved me in more ways than one. You showed me a whole new world and made me believe in so many things again, love being a key one. You welcomed me into your family with open arms and have been by my side every step of the way as I have adjusted to my new life, a life I just cannot imagine without you. You are my home and heart, and there is no amount of words to truly express how grateful I am to you._

_You are the most remarkable, brave, selfless, funny, beautiful person I have ever had the privilege to meet and call my partner in life, and I hope you can see just how incredible you are, in the eyes of myself, of Kora, of all our friends, and of the eyes of everyone who has ever known you. I am so proud of all you have achieved and everything you have ahead of you. You are a true inspiration to all agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I am honored to be your 'dorky weirdo', even though Google tells me that shouldn't be a compliment, no matter how nicely you say it. Not a day goes by when I don't thank the cosmos for causing the miracle that somehow brought us together._

_I love you so so much. I can't wait until you come back home and we can begin our new exciting adventure out in space together. I'm sure you, Kora and I are going to have a rather wonderful time._

_Yours always,_

_Daniel x_

*****

Daisy wasn't sure what she had expected the call's venue to be, but the sight of the New York speakeasy that Coulson had chosen made her breath catch in her throat for a moment. She hadn't seen this room – physically or virtually – since this very day last year when they'd left Deke in 1983 in the other timeline, when Daniel had offered to stay behind and she'd known then that she didn't want to live without him by her side.

Coulson was already stood there in the centre of the bar, looking at the empty chairs that were arranged in a circle, ready for them all. He was dressed in a crisp smart suit and looked the same as he always did, and it was a joy for Daisy to see. It had only been three months since they had last seen each other, and yet for some reason it felt much longer.

'There he is,' Daisy greeted enthusiastically as she walked over to him. 'You're looking good!'

' _You're_ looking good,' Coulson said, smiling back at her. 'I never change.'

They took their seats. Daisy felt nervous as they waited for the others, and she still couldn't fathom why. She had seen each of her old team members on numerous occasions since they had parted ways at the Lighthouse. Perhaps it was just the notion of this being the first time that they would all be together as a group that made it seem so momentous.

Yo-Yo then joined the call and walked into the speakeasy, with a friendly smile on her face. 'Long time no see,' she said.

Daisy's smile flickered slightly, but she recovered her expression quickly. Yes, it had been a long time. As the months had gone on, their contact with each other had steadily grown less, as Daisy had feared. She couldn't believe that it had taken them a whole year until they had been able to find some time to meet (and only virtually, at that) as a group.

May arrived then, looking unusually smart with a white shirt and black jacket. Coulson's face and eyes were soft and gooey as he gazed at her. Daisy was sympathetic; those feelings would never go away. No matter what version of Phil Coulson he was, he would always love Melinda May.

She knew that May and Coulson hadn't had chance to see much of each other since their unexpected extended stay in the U.K. at the beginning of January, due to May's work commitments trying to get the Academy up and running in time for the grand opening. But since that had happened, and May had got settled into her new job, they had resumed contact with each other…very occasionally. Daisy had heard from Kora that May had even taken Coulson out for a surprise dinner last week, as an early celebration for his birthday – not at one of the diners they'd gone to frequently back in the old days when they'd been young and started out as agents, but instead a new restaurant that neither of them had tried before, to make new memories with each other rather than pine after the way things had been. From the tender way they were looking at each other, Daisy could only assume that this had gone rather well, but she also knew from the longing, almost sad look in Coulson's eyes as he gazed at May now that he was doubtful about whether it would last.

'It doesn't matter how I feel, it's not fair to ask her to waste time on a robot-version of her dead…lover,' Coulson had mumbled to Daisy, the last time they had seen each other when they had met for coffee at HQ. 'Nope, that sounds creepy – let's go with 'dead boyfriend'. But no, we never actually had _that_ conversation-'

But Daisy had put her hand over his to cut over his rambling and said, 'Hey – who May wastes her time on is for her to decide.'

Those words seemed to have definitely changed something in Coulson, but she knew that he would always struggle with his true identity and what it meant for him and May, given their romantic past. Daisy hoped that they would be able to work things out, even if they only stuck together as close friends; they were at their happiest and strongest when they were together, platonically or romantically, and they were practically her mother and father, after all.

Jemma and Fitz joined the call soon after May had arrived, and then Mack, who had been slightly detained due to a 'situation in Moscow'. Of course, he couldn't talk about it – everything was classified now that Jemma and Fitz were no longer agents. It almost hurt Daisy to realise that there seemed an almost awkward atmosphere in the air. The group dynamic had changed. There were no hugs or drinks or laughter over some inside joke or prank that one of them had pulled. They were far away from each other, in so many ways.

It was strange to resort to small talk, but what else were they to do? They had all seen each other on separate occasions throughout the past twelve months and yet this, circled together as a group who hadn't been together in so very long, just felt strange. Daisy wished that Daniel were here, sat opposite her to give her that familiar warm, reassuring gaze of his, but then of course he _was_ here. He was sat about a metre from her, by his adorable little control panel with the fifties-style buttons. She may not be able to see him right now, but she knew that he was there.

The group began to catch up on what they were all up to now. Mack was currently stationed in Moscow, conveniently close to Bobbi and Hunter, and he and Yo-Yo had bought a new house, a place with a stunning view, although Yo-Yo was away on assignment with Piper and Davis. They enquired after May's new job; she pretended to hate it, though they all knew that wasn't the case. She did find it exhausting, however…though not quite as exhausting as Fitz and Jemma found being parents.

'She's the best,' Coulson said fondly, as they all asked after Alya.

'She's learning to swim right now,' Jemma gushed, and they all 'oohed' and 'awwed'; in unison. 'She wants to design her own fish.'

They all chatted about Alya some more, desperate for more information – none of them could ever get tired of talking about Jemma and Fitz's little space-miracle after all.

'Did she, uh, she get Uncle Mack's present?' Mack asked.

Jemma's face lit up. 'Yes, thank you.'

'Yeah, thank you for all the many presents,' Fitz said, giving Daisy a pointed glance.

Daisy smirked back at him; she and Daniel couldn't help it, they just adored Alya too much. She deserved to be spoilt.

'One a year is plenty,' Fitz said firmly.

'Oh, come on, Fitz, what about Christmas?' Yo-Yo pointed out.

Fitz looked exasperated. 'It's overrated.'

'We did get a _very_ nice letter from Agent Sousa,' Jemma said, smiling adoringly at Daisy.

Daisy secretly liked that Jemma still called him 'Agent Sousa' in front of the others; back when the Fitzsimmons family had visited them in New York a few months ago, they had all been so familiar, on a first-name basis, but now being in this room surrounded by these people, Jemma was resorting to her old formalities automatically, and it was nice. It was almost like no time had passed at all, that things weren't really so different. But of course they were.

Daisy smiled back as the rest of the team exchanged knowing looks; Sousa had written to the rest of them as well numerous times over the past year.

'So cute he writes letters,' Jemma went on adoringly.

'I know, right? I just got him a typewriter,' Daisy said, thinking back fondly to his reaction when he'd opened it. 'Speaking of a kid on Christmas.'

She chuckled to herself, her eyes looking rather dazed, and she smiled to herself, lost in train of thought.

Jemma looked at her hopefully. 'Things are going…well?' she said.

She had asked Daisy this question many times, and she knew the answer, but she said it to encourage Daisy to speak about it in front of the whole group. Jemma knew that this was a big step that Daisy and Daniel had taken together, to leave Earth and venture out hundreds of light-years away to the depths of space, to explore the many planets and ancient alien species out there. While other normal couples might have perhaps moved on to becoming engaged, this assignment with S.W.O.R.D., Jemma knew, was Daisy and Daniel's equivalent. And it was a big deal, for both of them.

Daisy nodded, a smile on her face. But still, even after all this time, she didn't want to jinx it or boast about it. 'They're going, yeah,' she said brightly, sounding utterly dazed at that wonderful fact.

She knew that Jemma knew this didn't even cover it, but Daisy preferred to act casual about it; she didn't want to rub it in everyone's faces or gush like a silly lovestruck teenager about how incandescently happy she was at how well things were going.

The rest of the team looked at each other with raised eyebrows and knowing smirks. They knew just what she meant by that. All you had to do was look at Daisy's face, her smile, her eyes. She was brimming with happiness. She was on top of the world.

'We're just, like, loving the journey together,' Daisy went on softly.

This whole past year had been an incredible journey in itself. Just being in a relationship, learning about each other, moving in together, saying 'I love you' to a romantic partner for the first time, everything they had been through in the first two weeks of knowing each other, let alone this wonderful year that had passed since then. And now _this_ – an assignment out in space, together. It was like something from a dream.

As Daisy talked, May's gaze fell on Coulson sat beside her, her eyes tender yet sad as she watched him. She was so happy for Daisy, to see how well things had turned out, to see her finally with someone who deserved her and took care of her and made her smile the way she was doing now. She had come so far, and May didn't know anyone who deserved this happiness more than her. But part of her couldn't help feeling envious, for both herself and for Coulson. If they'd acted on their feelings earlier, years earlier, perhaps they could have had what Daisy and Daniel had now. She and Coulson still saw each other occasionally, they had even come close to turning into something more once again a couple of times…but it would never be the same. And it could never match the magic of Daisy and Daniel's relationship.

'I showed him _E.T._ ,' Daisy went on enthusiastically, 'to prep for it, so…'

'Great movie,' Coulson said approvingly.

'Classic.'

'He cried like a baby,' Daisy said, and Mack chuckled fondly as they all watched her, still in awe of just how huge and genuine her smile was. 'Um, but he's…he's-he's _made_ for this work. He's solid. But he does keep calling us 'the Astro Ambassadors', so that's…yeah.'

She laughed to herself, aware of how everyone gazing at her with warm smiles on their faces and surprised by how that didn't even embarrass her. But why should she be embarrassed? It was no secret that she was in love and happy.

'He's a dork,' Daisy said proudly.

They all knew that was code for: 'I love him to bits', because she'd said it to them all so many times with such adoration whenever she'd been in touch with any of them these past few months.

'But he says hi,' Daisy said, making a mental note to force Daniel to use the Framework transmitter device the next time they did this.

The team then moved on to ask Coulson what his plan was; to their relief, he was in no rush to turn himself off. He wanted to take some more time, continue to reassess, and see the world. May, Mack and Daisy offered him places with their respective teams for when he was done with his sabbatical, which Coulson was grateful for.

Daisy's signal then began to go slightly; they were about to enter a nebula back on Zephyr 3. Yo-Yo was near the drop zone where she was, and May had a group waiting. A slightly awkward silence fell for a moment as the old team looked at each other, realising that the conversation had somehow already drawn to a natural close. Daisy was sad; she'd hoped that they would be on this group call for much longer. She had so much to say, and yet she couldn't think what. It wasn't like before, where they had all talked with each other every day and it was normal and natural. This was a catch-up, just a five-minute catch-up, and then that was it, back to their ordinary lives, to carry on with the rest of their day.

Jemma looked rather despondent as well that it was all over so quickly, so soon. 'I vote we make this a tradition,' she said.

'Yeah, I agree. We can't lose touch,' Mack said firmly, smiling reassuringly at Daisy sat opposite him. 'We've been through…too much together. A miracle we survived.'

Daisy found comfort in his words. Even though they had all gone their separate ways and didn't get to see each other every day, their family still existed, and they would still be there for each other, always. They were tied to each other from everything they had been through together. That love, that family they had built would never disappear; it would still be there no matter the distance or the time. She had to believe that.

They all began to joke then about the amount of times they had all nearly died – or, in Coulson's case, the multiple times he had died – and then reminisced about Deke, wondering how he was doing in the other timeline. They all missed him so much, and laughed fondly at the thought of him doing his rock concerts while leading the agency.

And then there was another awkward pause. None of them wanted to leave. And yet none of them could think of anything else left to say.

They had forged permanent bonds with each other, they had been through monumental, world-altering, life-shattering events together…and yet their lives had just gone on, they had left it all behind, and the intimacy and familiarity of their day-to-day routine living and working together was just a mere memory now. Somehow, in what seemed like the blink of an eye and yet also a decade, their lives had changed completely. Their best friends were now just contacts on their phone, people they dropped by to visit occasionally when they weren't busy or who they would send a quick text message to once in a while. The S.H.I.E.L.D. bases, both airborne and underground, that they had grown attached to were no longer their homes. They were all new people now. And perhaps they were better for it. But that didn't make it any less poignant.

Yo-Yo was the first to leave.

'Same time next year?' she said, and as everyone smiled and nodded at her in agreement, Daisy felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

A year away? Yes, they would no doubt visit each other occasionally as they had done this past year, but a year until all of them were together as a group again? _A year?_

And yet, as Daisy thought about it and registered that desperate feeling in the room between them all – that feeling of longing for one another, of what once was – she knew that time didn't really matter anymore. It never had for their team. They would have that bond forever, no matter what.

May was the next to leave, though before she did, she encouraged Coulson to swing by at the Academy on his travels, to tell his many stories to the newcomers. Daisy hoped that he would.

Jemma and Fitz then left; they were having a picnic in the garden back at their charming cottage in Perthshire and Alya was punching Fitz in the leg, eager to carry on playing. Daisy looked forward to having that with Daniel someday. Before departing, Jemma promised to email Daisy an anatomy analysis she had requested for one of S.W.O.R.D.'s upcoming missions. Daisy smiled; Jemma only corresponded directly with Daisy about work when Fitz was either out or asleep, because she didn't want him to know that she was secretly carrying on with S.H.I.E.L.D. work in their retirement. It was reassuring to know that Daisy wasn't the only one who missed the old days so much.

Before Mack exited the call, he looked directly at Daisy, and in that moment he was her big brother once again. 'Be careful out there,' he said softly.

Daisy smiled and nodded. He knew he didn't need to worry, not really. She was Daisy Johnson, the hero who saved the world, and she had a good man by her side always watching out for her.

When just Daisy and Coulson were left in the call, they sat in silence for a moment, then looked at each other. This group call had hit Daisy like a punch to the gut of just how final everything was with their team, how it really was over, a distant memory, an old story. In just the space of a year they had all moved on and formed new lives, away from each other. And now they would just hang out together as a group once a year, with the occasional visits and calls and texts every few months in between. And yet, somehow, Daisy felt okay with it. It was a strange feeling of acceptance. Because she was happy in her new life, truly happy. But she would always miss the way things had been. They were her family, after all. They always would be.

'It's not the same without these guys,' she said.

'No, it's not,' Coulson murmured, twiddling his thumbs, as he gazed at Daisy and smiled at her.

'And are you really just seeing the world?' she asked him.

Coulson shrugged thoughtfully. 'There's some places I've always wanted to go,' he replied.

Daisy smiled sadly, nodded. 'Okay,' she said in a small voice.

She wished that Coulson would sometime join her, Daniel and Kora on their exciting journey in space. And yet she knew from that last tender look between him and May where he would go to in the end, once he'd finished travelling – to join her at the Academy.

'But look at what you did here,' Daisy said. 'There are people out there…who are lost. People who…show promise. If you don't find them, who will?'

Coulson was smiling at her; he was looking at the answer. 'How's it going with your new recruit?' he asked.

Daisy smiled, and hesitated as she thought about Kora, of how far they had come since this time last year. 'Hmm. She's doing great,' she replied quietly, nodding, and Coulson smiled warmly at her. 'She's been through a lot, but, um…it's funny what can happen when someone believes in you.'

She could feel her eyes watering slightly as she gazed at him, the man who had started this whole thing, the man who had brought them all together and shown Daisy how incredible life and people could be.

Coulson's lips parted for a moment, overcome with emotion at her words. 'Give me a call when you get back,' was all he could manage to say.

Daisy smiled. 'Yes, sir.'

And then he pressed his fingers to his temple and exited the call.

Daisy inhaled sharply the moment he disappeared, as if she'd been holding her breath (and possibly tears) the whole time, waiting until she was left alone before finally letting go.

It had hit her hard, to watch the people she had grown to call her family disappear into thin air one by one like that. It strangely felt more like the end of an era than it had back when they'd been bidding farewell to each other in person at the Lighthouse last year. She knew that she was clinging on to it, that she missed their old life the most when everyone else had moved on, but she was okay really. She was just overcome with nostalgia.

Daisy sighed as she looked around at the empty chairs, lingering, and her face crumpled slightly as she tapped her fingers, not knowing what to do with herself. She wished they could have all spoken for longer. She wished they didn't have to be so far apart all the time. Sometimes she wished she could go back to how things had been before, just the old team together on the Zephyr fighting L.M.D.s and Shrike and Chronicoms and whatever else the universe decided to throw at them.

But she had something just as good, if not even better, to go back to now.

Taking one last look at the speakeasy, Daisy took a deep breath, reached her hand up to her temple and closed her eyes as she turned the switch of the Framework transmitter device.

Her heart swelled the moment she opened her eyes to see Daniel sat there on the chair opposite her, as always, his prosthetic leg propped up casually beside his control panel, engrossed in Carl Sagan's _Cosmos_. With the mere press of a button, she had come back to the real world, to _her_ world, and was able to shake that sadness and longing away…because of Daniel, because of Zephyr 3, because of this new mission, and because she knew that this, right here with him, was where her heart belonged.

Daniel looked up from the heavy book as she removed the device. 'They good?' he asked her.

Daisy hesitated before answering. Yes. They were all good, more than good even. They were all much better off, and much happier, than they had been before. Perhaps that was why it hurt. There was something rather bittersweet about it.

She nodded and smiled warmly at him. 'They're good,' she replied.

Daniel smiled at her, though his expression turned sympathetic as he watched her bend her head low as she put the tiny Framework device away. He knew how she was feeling. He knew she missed them all, and the time they'd had together, terribly. It had taken her months to accept that it was truly over.

But Daisy was surprised by how okay she actually felt now.

She may have lost the old home that she'd got so used to. But she had a new home now, with Daniel and with Kora, and it didn't matter where they were; she knew that they would always be there for her. Her partner and her sister. Her family.

A small smile fell on Daisy's lips as she looked down. _How did I get to be so lucky?_

'Hey,' Kora then called over from the cockpit, and Daisy turned around to face her. 'You got to see this.'

Daisy turned back to Daniel; they exchanged an apprehensive glance as Daisy got up from her seat. Daniel put his book down on the control panel, looking a little wary as he got up to his feet – they'd been out here for a number of days now, yet this bit still got him every time.

Daniel followed Daisy into the cockpit and they both paused for a moment, slightly stunned, as the extraordinary sight met their eyes.

Giant, bright, burning red clouds of dust and gas awaited them, sparkling and shimmering. The hot, new stars forming before them cast off enough radiation to cause a spectacular red glow, which lit the inside of the Zephyr's cockpit with a scarlet hue. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. And both Daisy and Daniel knew that there would only be plenty more of these unbelievable, spellbinding sights to come. The feeling was indescribable.

Kora smiled at the dazed look on Daisy's and Daniel's faces as she turned back to gaze out of the window. 'Amazing, right?' she said, as they looked on in awe.

Daisy nodded, feeling a little choked up, as she looked out at her new life, glistening and glowing and spreading out far and wide across the cosmos before her. She had spent over a year in space before and yet the sight of swirling stardust and magical sparkling hues of mesmerizing colours would never fail to astonish her. Daniel rested his hand on the back of the pilot's seat as he stood beside her, his lips parting in a daze as he stared out at the stunning view.

'It's beautiful,' Daisy murmured, as the new family looked out at the otherworldly multi-coloured cloud of space dust.

Her eyes began to water slightly as she turned to gaze at a highly starstruck Daniel, who couldn't take his eyes off the window, as if she needed to reassure herself that he was really stood there, here with her in space heading off blindly into the unknown so as just to be with her. He had no idea that what really made this whole experience _so_ incredibly beautiful was him.

A flood of warmth and overwhelming love surging through her, Daisy sidled up to him, her hand on his lower back; they moved as one as Daniel, still gazing intently at the nebula, pulled her closer instinctively and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Daisy smiled as they leaned into each other, at the way he was so automatically attuned to what she wanted and felt even when his attention was diverted by the most breathtaking sight anyone had ever seen, and her eyes welled up with emotion as she turned back to look out at the nebula.

Kora smiled at them both as she got up from the pilots' seat and left them to it, touching Daisy's arm as she headed back to talk to the rest of their new team on the command bridge. Daisy smiled as she watched her go, her sister, her wonderful sister, before turning back to Daniel and resting her head on his shoulder as they looked out at the stars.

'How are you feeling, Danny Boy?' Daisy asked, a smile on her face as they wrapped their arms around each other.

Daniel looked away from the shimmering, swirling scarlet clouds of stardust and gazed at her. _'They're your everything. Stars in your skies,'_ Jemma had said. Well, she'd certainly got that right.

Not so long ago, he had secretly got in touch with Jemma and Fitz with a sketch of the engagement ring for Daisy that he had designed. He had asked them both to use the same material and technology used to make her Quake gauntlets so that the ring wouldn't get damaged whenever Daisy used her powers (and they had both responded extremely enthusiastically, to Daniel's relief). Looking at the reflection of the sparkling clouds of stardust in Daisy's eyes now, though, it made Daniel wonder if perhaps he would have to think again about the design of the stone on the ring now; perhaps he needed something to reflect their time away out here. Nothing would be as beautiful as this nebula before them. Well, aside from Daisy herself, of course.

'Well, Quake,' Daniel replied, squeezing her waist and pulling her closer to him, 'I'm feeling that this is gonna be a hell of a lot of fun.'

Daisy smiled back at him. 'Me too,' she said, and they leaned in and kissed tenderly.

Any sadness Daisy had felt merely a minute ago once exiting the Framework call had dissipated. It was crystal clear now. She was where she was meant to be. It was dazzling up here, like something from a dream, a whole new world to explore. And she had just the right person at her side to explore it with her.

Daniel pressed his smiling lips to the top of her head, wondering if she knew just how deeply he was in love with her, as they turned back to gaze out at the nebula, at the promise of a new adventure.

They could create their own future now. They were soaring into the unknown together, with a hundred thousand things to see and do, and it was beautiful. They were so far away from Earth – literally hundreds of light-years away from home – and yet both Daisy and Daniel knew that, as long as they had each other, this right here was the only home they needed. Neither of them could see what was coming…nothing was written or set in stone, their future was theirs to do with as they pleased…and they couldn't wait to see what it had in store for them, together.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - prepare for some waffling…
> 
> So, that's it! I really hope you all enjoyed this fic. Thanks to those of you who have stuck with this and been reading and commenting (and even live-tweeting your reactions!) pretty much every chapter, I really can't tell you how much it means to me!  
> I never expected this fic to turn into more than 10 chapters because a) I've been traumatised by TV shows where the writing for characters/relationships has been a huge let-down *cough* Game of Thrones and The 100 *cough* and b) at the time I started writing this, Enver Gjokaj was only credited to be in about 4/5 episodes, so I never thought he'd make it to the end! Looking back though, I should have seen how obvious it was from the start that Daisy and Sousa would end up together – I was 99% sure their relationship would turn romantic after their last scene in 7x08 with Daniel watching Daisy in the healing chamber, which was what hit me with the urge to write about their story, but I never would have predicted that we'd get Dousy endgame (a whole year later as well!).  
> Before this fic, I was trying to write my own story (it's always been a silly dream of mine to be an author) but had been struggling with writer's block for literally months. But now writing this fic and seeing your feedback on /Twitter has really helped me get back in the zone and I'm excited to continue with my own stuff now. My motivation to do this wouldn't be there without all your lovely words of encouragement and extremely kind comments on this fic so thank you all so so much!  
> I'll miss this ship and will miss Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so much – Daisy and Daniel are my OTP (is it obvious?) and AoS is now one of my favourite shows, and I can't wait to re-watch it all from the beginning. Maybe once I've finished that, we might have a Quake/Astro Ambassadors spin-off announcement?! Here's hoping!
> 
> Love you guys. Thanks again so much for reading :)


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